The Relocation Vortex
by SergeantFuzzyBoots
Summary: When Penny moves in to 4A, Sheldon must find ways to deal with the changes that abound. All canon pairings included, heavy L/P and Shamy. A Sheldon/Leonard/Penny fic.
1. Chapter 1

**This is the fic I wrote of the BigBangBigBang 2012 for Livejournal. The critera were that it had to be at least 15k in length, have a beginning, middle, and end, and include at least one main character from Big Bang Theory. A big thanks to The Queen of Double Standards for being my beta and to kymericl (Angela) for being my artist. :) Hope you all enjoy the fic, I'm still not entirely happy with it, but it's the best I could do with it.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

The five held their breaths, watching in silence as Sheldon stood over the coffee table, arms folded across his chest. His eyebrows were narrowed in concentration and at times he'd move his jaw to the side, but still he didn't speak. Only Amy didn't seem bothered by the wrath her boyfriend would potentially unleash in a matter of seconds. She simply glanced around the room, raising an eyebrow at the anxious expressions on her friends' faces.

Finally, Sheldon spoke. "Who touched my-"

"Amy! Amy did it!" the group cried out defensively, averting their gazes and trying to disassociate themselves from the neurobiologist.

"Oh," Sheldon said simply, giving a small shrug before sitting down. He turned to Amy and smiled. "Enjoy."

Leonard's eyes widened in shock and next to him Penny's jaw dropped. Howard, Bernadette, and Raj had similar reactions, the only noise breaking the silence being the sound of Raj's fish slipping from his fork and onto his plate.

"...I'm sorry, what?" Penny asked, doing a slight double take.

"I'm allowed to have his onion ring," Amy said, taking a bite of the aforementioned piece of food.

"But...you touched _food..._on his _plate_!" Penny protested, pointing to Sheldon's plate as if that would demonstrate the true seriousness of the situation.

Sheldon and Amy slowly nodded their heads in unison, seemingly confused by everyone's apparent shock.

"Relationship agreement section eight," said Sheldon.

"Each couple member is allotted one piece of food from the other couple member's plate," Amy explained.

"Provided that the sharing does not involve the sharing of utensils."

"And provided that the food is not liquid."

Penny frowned. "So, no strike?"

The theoretical physicist shook his head. "No strike."

The waitress shook her head, unsure of whether to think that was really cute or really annoying considering the neighbour war _her_ onion ring fiasco had started.

"Alright," said Sheldon. "I feel as though we've fixated on that long enough. Anyone willing to offer up a new topic of conversation? If not, I have my one hundred alphabetized conversation topics ready at hand."

"Well, Howard and I are planning on seeing that new romantic comedy after dinner," Bernadette began.

"No? No, one?" Sheldon asked, as though he hadn't heard the microbiologist. "Alright, I'll get out my conversation cards." He began digging through his pocket until he pulled out a stack of cue cards.

"Was that my fault?" Bernadette whispered, looking up at Howard who sat on the arm of the white chair.

"No," he said. "When a man has a relationship agreement and alphabetized conversation cards, it's always his fault."

The group ended up discussing the importance of getting vaccinated come flu season, a topic of conversation that most regretted picking by dinner's end. They'd learned their lesson, though: the boring topics were always the better choice going up against the potentially frightening ones.

"We should've just gone with artichoke," Leonard muttered to Penny before standing up to begin clearing the plates off of the coffee table.

"Don't worry, we'll save it for next time," Sheldon said brightly, neatly stacking his cards together before putting them back in his pocket.

"Yay," Penny said as she leaned back against the couch, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Well," Howard said, getting to his feet and rubbing his hands together. "Bernadette and I should probably go if we're going to make that movie."

Raj stood up along with the married couple and moved to whisper something to the engineer.

Howard sighed. "Fine, you can come. But this is the last time!" Frowning, the astrophysicist whispered to him again. "Yes, I know I say that every time, but this time, I mean it!"

"I'm going to head out, too," Amy informed them. "I've got an alcoholic monkey at home who's two days sober, and if I don't get back soon, he'll start watching _Jersey Shore_ and throw a fit at being exposed to all the alcohol induced frivolity." She turned to grin at Penny. "You should come meet him sometime, you'd probably hit it off."

The waitress smiled good naturedly at her friend as the neurobiologist followed the majority of the group to the door, then did a slight double take and frowned in confusion. Fortunately, her ponderings over Amy's comment dissipated when Leonard returned to the couch. They smiled at each other and he took up his seat next to her, slipping an arm around her shoulders.

"You going to stay here tonight?" he asked, lightly running his fingers up and down the side of her arm.

Penny grinned, leaning into his chest. "I might as well, seeing as I'm kind of in love with the glasses-wearing physicist that lives here."

Leonard chuckled. "If you hadn't said glasses-wearing, I would've been worried."

"Well, I did, so take the compliment and shut up," she said, playfully rolling her eyes at him. He grinned and planted a kiss on her forehead.

Sheldon, who had remained oddly silent during the couple's public display of affection, spoke up. "Before the two of you begin planning your amorous activities for the evening, you might want to rethink your choice of location."

Penny frowned and glanced up at Leonard, but her boyfriend looked equally perplexed. "Why is that?"

"Over the course of the past three weeks, Penny has spent a total of nine nights in this apartment," Sheldon explained, rising from his spot and heading over to his desk. "If the two of you plan on spending the night here this evening, then, according to the roommate agreement" – he lifted said document from its home on his desk – "Penny would officially be living with us."

Penny raised an eyebrow. "What?"

The theoretical physicist returned to the couch, holding open the agreement so the two could see. "It's says right here, "A girlfriend shall be deemed 'living with' Leonard when she has stayed over for B" – he tapped the appropriate section with his index finger – "more than nine nights in a three week period"."

"Sheldon," said Penny, struggling to find the right words. "That – that does _not _mean we're living together."

"According to this it does."

"Sheldon, spending a certain number of nights in someone's apartment does not constitute cohabitation," Leonard said. "There are other factors that have to be accounted for."

"Factors such as eating two out of the three major meals of the day here, brushing ones teeth here, showering here, and leaving numerous articles of clothing here? Because you've done all of those, as well."

Leonard and Penny glanced at each other. It was true, they _had _been doing all of those things, but they hadn't considered them to be that big of a deal; they certainly wouldn't have classified themselves as living together because of it.

"So," said Penny. "I'm not allowed to stay here tonight without having to sign some ridiculous roommate agreement?"

The theoretical physicist nodded. "That is correct. And the roommate agreement is not ridiculous, it's organized and effective."

"Sure, sure," she said dismissively, getting to her feet. She grabbed Leonard's hand and began dragging him towards the door. "Come on, my apartment."

"A wise choice," Sheldon commended.

"Bite me!" Penny called over her shoulder, only half playfully.

The couple headed across the hall and then entered Penny's bedroom, closing the door behind them.

"Sorry about that," Leonard said, shrugging off his jacket and hoodie.

"Eh, don't worry about it." She sat on the edge of her bed and gave him a mischievous grin, raising an eyebrow suggestively. "We have more important things to think about right now."

"Yeah?" Leonard asked. He had a perfectly innocent smile on his face, completely oblivious to the mood she was trying to create.

Penny giggled, shaking her head in amusement. She then leaned forward and grabbed her boyfriend by his shirt, pulling him down so he rested on top of her, their foreheads and noses touching.

"Ohhhhh," Leonard said, grinning in realization. Penny grinned back, pushing her nose up against his before kissing him.

Thoughts of what Sheldon had said left the couple's minds as they took things further. Even when it was over and they were snuggled up together for the night, completely immersed in the cuddling, no lingering thoughts of the two of them living together remained. It was only when Penny briefly opened her eyes to plant a kiss on Leonard's cheek and she noticed that neither of her robes were hanging on her bathroom door that they returned. That was a little odd; usually she kept one in her apartment and one in 4A. Evidently both were in Leonard's room. It wasn't that big of a deal, really. She _had_ been spending a lot more nights with Leonard, like Sheldon had pointed out...but that didn't mean they were living together.

_According to the roommate agreement, that's what it means..._ Penny frowned slightly. But that was just the roommate agreement; it had clauses that accounted for zombies and superpowers, it couldn't be _that_ realistic. It certainly couldn't dictate whether or not she and Leonard were ready to start living together... Of course that thought brought up a plethora of new questions she was a little too tired to think about. Still, as she concentrated on Leonard's breathing in an attempt to lull herself to sleep, she couldn't quell the questions that were now burning in her mind.

**Reviews are awesome, so feel free to leave one! :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Still own nada.**

Although spending one night away from 4A saved them from having to worry about the roommate agreement for a little while, the couple spent the next few nights in Penny's apartment just to be safe. Unfortunately, Sheldon's agreement wasn't the only thing that could keep questions about Leonard and Penny's living arrangements fresh in the two's minds. One night Leonard would realize his toothbrush was back in his apartment; another time, Penny's work uniform would be in 4A. These were all things that had happened before, but were now much more noticeable. While the fact that this was happening so often was quite nerve wracking to Penny, she found it annoying more than anything else. It was a hassle to have to run across the hall for things every night, and, in certain cases, it was kind of a mood killer. She'd thought of suggesting to Leonard that he just bring a bag of his stuff over when they knew he'd be spending multiple nights there, but then realized that _that _more than anything sounded like they were living together, so she kept her mouth shut.

Tonight was night five of staying at Penny's apartment, and the waitress was currently sitting up in bed, the covers pulled up just to her waist, as she waited for Leonard to return from across the hall with her pyjamas where she'd forgotten them. Normally, that wouldn't have been a problem, but she'd gotten behind on her laundry and now that was the only clean pair she had left.

Moments later, she heard the door open and shut and then her boyfriend entered her bedroom, her pyjama shorts and tank top in hand.

"These are the right ones, right?" he asked, tossing them over to her.

Glancing at them, Penny nodded. "Yeah, of course. I mean, they were the only pair over there, weren't they?"

"Actually," Leonard said, making his way around the bed and then climbing onto his side. "In total, there were three pairs in my closet."

Penny's eyes widened. "_Three_?" She couldn't even think of what other two pairs she had at Leonard's. Granted, her organizational system for her clothes wasn't that great, but still. How long had they been over there that she'd completely forgotten about them?

Leonard nodded and then shrugged. "I was going to bring them all back here, but then I wasn't sure if you'd need some over there, since...you know," he trailed off, looking uncomfortable.

The awkwardness that began to seep into the room made Penny frown. Other than deciding on where to spend the night in order to avoid the roommate agreement, the couple hadn't discussed anything else concerning the two of them living together –if they were ready for that yet; whether or not they were basically living together already. Penny had a long list of these questions circulating through her brain, but she'd been hesitant to speak to Leonard about it, unsure of what his reaction would be. She figured that since he hadn't brought the subject up yet that meant he wasn't ready for that particular progression in their relationship. After all, he was usually the one who became ready for these kinds of steps forward first – though she liked to think they were on more equal ground emotionally now. She knew he'd had a bad experience with Stephanie, but their relationship was much stronger and older than that one had been... The waitress shook her head, realizing she was probably over thinking this too much. Leonard must be rubbing off on her.

"In case Dr. Whackadoodle has another rule about you spending a certain amount of nights away from the apartment and we have to switch it up again?" she offered, coming out of her thoughts and trying to lighten the mood a bit.

Leonard chuckled and nodded, Penny's comment having had the desired effect, but then his face grew more serious. "He actually probably does."

Penny nodded, biting her lip. She wanted to talk about their living situation, to just get it out in the open so they could deal with it, but she still wasn't sure if it was a good idea. Just moments ago the topic had made Leonard uncomfortable, and, tonight, that was enough to keep Penny quiet.

Instead, she rolled on her side so she could face him and reached out an arm so she could tap Leonard's lower lip with her index finger. He always got the most adorable grin on his face when she did that and this time was no exception.

"So, should we sleep at your place tomorrow night, just to be safe?" she asked.

"Yeah," he said, smiling at her. "That sounds good."

"Then I'm working late the next night, so I guess we'll just sleep in our separate apartments, then." She almost ended with "So that will be good" but stopped herself. She knew how that would sound and she didn't mean it like that. Penny loved spending nights with Leonard and snuggling with him, and she always missed him whenever they slept apart; however –considering they were still trying to work out a schedule accounting for Sheldon's rules –it would be somewhat of a relief to not have to worry about where they were going to sleep for one evening.

* * *

Leonard stared down at his copy of the roommate agreement, his brow furrowed in concentration. He was sitting, cross legged, on his bed, the agreement and a calendar in front of him. It was times like these that the experimental physicist wondered why Sheldon had made the roommate agreement so damn complicated. He could've just given one circumstance that signified Penny living with them, but, no, he'd just _had_ to come up with three. It certainly made coming up with a schedule much more difficult.

Leonard shook his head. A schedule. He couldn't believe that he actually had to draw one up just to circumvent the roommate agreement...or that he and Penny needed one. The fact that they'd been spending so many nights together that Sheldon classified them as "living together" was...well, scary wasn't the right word...but it was surprising, to say the least.

_"Don't you think if a woman was living with me I'd be the first one to know about it?"_

_ "Oh, sweetie, you'd be the last one to know about it."_

That comment had troubled Leonard at the time. He hadn't been ready to move on to that next level or prepared for that kind of commitment. But this time he thought he might be. He and Penny had been back together for a while now, they were in love, and both saw a future; moving in together seemed like a logical progression.

Still, it was a big step, and Leonard wasn't sure if the roommate agreement saying they were living together was reason enough to actually do it. Or maybe it was. It was possible Penny thought it was. Sheldon certainly thought it was...Leonard shook his head, stopping himself from going into full blown "over think" mode.

He tossed the roommate agreement aside and lay back on his bed, uncrossing his legs. He'd wait a few days and see if Penny brought up the subject and hopefully get a better idea of where she stood on the matter. If not, he'd do it himself. Penny already wouldn't be sleeping in 4A tomorrow night, which was, at this point, a rather large break in their pattern. Perhaps it would help them figure things out. He hoped so, anyway.

* * *

Penny sighed heavily as she made her way up the stairs. She hated working the bar so late on a week day. Hardly anyone came in at that time and she ended up sitting there by herself for most of the night.

She dug through her purse for her key upon reaching the fourth floor, exhaustion causing her feet to begin to drag. Placing a hand on her doorknob, she pushed her key into the lock. Penny frowned when the key didn't go in all the way. She pulled it free and tried again, but was met with the same result. She began jiggling it in the lock, but then stopped herself, not wanting a repeat of the time she'd gotten her car key stuck in the keyhole.

The waitress brought the piece of metal closer to her face to examine it. Well, that explained it; it wasn't her key, but the key to Leonard and Sheldon's apartment. She'd had it with her to lock the door since she'd been the last one to leave 4A that morning.

Becoming more tired by the second, Penny sighed and began searching through her purse for the right key. It wasn't there. She turned things over, looked in the flaps of her wallet, and even tried shaking the bag to see if she could hear the jingling sounds of metal, but to no avail; she only had the key to 4A.

_That _was something that had never happened before. She didn't usually only spend just one night at Leonard's. As Sheldon had pointed out, she'd sometimes gone over a week sleeping in their apartment; she'd rarely needed the key to her apartment since –as she and Leonard had realized – most of her necessities were in 4A.

She sighed, turning around and making her way across the hall. Maybe Sheldon's roommate agreement wasn't so ridiculous after all. She hadn't had her key with her, all her stuff was in Leonard's apartment...maybe they _had_ been living together in a way.

Penny felt an odd, twisting sensation in her stomach at that thought. It didn't scare her, not exactly. The realization was just a bit shocking. They'd taken a step – and a pretty big step at that – without even really realizing it. True, it wasn't the same as officially living together, but it was a lot closer than Penny had thought that they were.

She gently shut the door behind her as she entered the boys' apartment. It was pitch black inside, but she didn't want to turn on the lights for fear that even something as slight as that would wake Sheldon up. Attempting to be as silent as possible, she tiptoed down the hall and then quietly slipped inside Leonard's bedroom.

Through the darkness, she could just make out her boyfriend's sleeping form; he had the covers drawn up to his chin where he lay on the left side of the bed. _Her_ side of the bed. The fact that he slept there when she wasn't with him made her smile.

She changed into one of the pairs of pyjamas she'd left in his bedroom, trying to make as little noise as possible. The waitress proved not to be very good at this because just as she finished getting ready for bed, Leonard raised his head.

"Penny?" he asked, squinting at her.

"Hey, you," she said, walking around the bed to stand before him. She ran a hand through his hair.

"I thought you were staying in your apartment tonight," he said sleepily.

"I forgot my key," she explained, getting into the bed as Leonard scooted back and pulled the blankets down for her. "But I had yours."

"Mmm," he said, curling his arms around her. "You know, if you had wanted to stay here, you could've just asked. You didn't have to pretend to forget your key."

Penny rolled her eyes and gave him a nudge, but then snuggled into him. She was too tired to start any playful banter or to talk about the little realization she'd had in the hall. But they _did _need to talk about it, and she didn't want to wake up tomorrow and find she'd lost her nerve to broach the subject.

"Leonard?" she mumbled, keeping her eyes closed.

"Hmm?"

"We need to talk about something in the morning, okay?"

"Okay." His voice sounded so groggy that, for a moment, Penny was worried he'd forget her request by morning, but then his hand grasped hers, gently squeezing it, and that touch was enough to reassure her that they'd both be ready for the conversation tomorrow.


	3. Chapter 3

**I continue to own nothing.**

"Hmm..." Sheldon mumbled, arms folded across his chest.

Penny had to bite down the urge to not let out an exasperated sigh. The theoretical physicist was standing in front of the closet – as he had been for the past ten minutes –mulling over which coat to wear to the comic book store. He'd checked the weather on his phone and was now trying to deduce which of his jackets would do best in fending off the cold wind that was swirling around Pasadena that morning. Normally, this wouldn't have bothered the waitress, but since she was eager to talk to Leonard about their living situation, she was anxious for Sheldon to get going; considering the couple were about to make a decision that would most likely greatly affect the theoretical physicist, there was no way in hell that Penny would allow him to be present during the conversation.

"This darker windbreaker will attract the sunlight and keep me warmer," Sheldon said pensively.

"Sounds like the right pick, then," Leonard said from where he sat next to Penny on the couch. "Have a nice time."

"Hang on," he said, holding up a hand. Penny tipped her head back in annoyance. "This other jacket has more insulation on the inside."

The waitress opened her mouth to snap at her neighbour, but then closed it, suddenly struck with an idea. "Okay, well, while you figure that out, Leonard and I are just going to keep ourselves occupied over here."

Before Sheldon could ask, Penny pulled Leonard's face to hers, aggressively pushing her mouth against his. She heard the sound of hurried footsteps as she wrapped her arms around her boyfriend's neck, and the door banged shut just as her fingers began combing through his hair.

Leonard grinned at her when she pulled away. "Nice one."

She grinned back proudly. "Thank you."

"So, now that he's gone..." Leonard gestured toward her, waiting for her to begin the conversation.

Penny nodded, sucking in a deep breath. "Okay." She paused for a moment, thinking about how to word this. "Okay," she repeated. Well, she had one word so far. "We're in a strong, committed relationship right now..." She stopped again and, at her boyfriend's nod, continued. "So, it wouldn't be out of the question for us to begin taking steps forward."

"Uh huh." Leonard nodded, though he was starting to look a little confused.

"Right," she said, looking down at her hands that lay twisted together in her lap. Penny took another pause, realizing she didn't know how to branch out from her first comment to what she really wanted to talk about. Perhaps it was just best to spit it out –she'd probably end up just confusing him more if she kept circling around the subject without latching on at some point. "Since Sheldon mentioned that, according to the roommate agreement, we were coming close to living together, it's had me thinking that maybe...maybe that wouldn't be such a bad idea."

Leonard straightened up, his eyes widening. He shifted in his seat so he could face her better. "You want us to live together?"

"We don't have to," she said quickly, holding up her hands in a defensive manner. "It's just that we rarely spend nights apart anymore, and most of my stuff is here, and, you know, last night I had your key but not mine, and I know it's probably rushing things, but-

Leonard's lips covered hers before she had a chance to say anything more. Her eyes fluttered shut and her hand went to his knee, her heart now beating faster for a much different reason than it had been a moment ago.

When they broke apart, Leonard's free hand went to her cheek and their eyes locked. He smiled softly. "I would love to move in with you."

Penny grinned, moving her hand to rest against the inside of his leg. She found the situation kind of funny; usually she was the one who had to kiss Leonard when he got caught up rambling about developments in their relationship. She had to say, the role reversal was quite fun. "You think we're ready for such a big step?"

Leonard nodded. "I really do." He looked away for a moment and then turned back to face her. "I think this'll be good," he said, unable to hide the excited smile that was taking over his face.

Penny thought he looked adorable, but she couldn't resist a tease. "Well, I don't know," she said in a playful manner. "If we started living together, I wouldn't be able to keep my hands off you."

Leonard cocked his head and his brow furrowed in disbelief. "You already aren't capable of that."

"That is _not_ true," she protested, doing her best to sound as if she actually believed that.

Leonard raised an eyebrow at her and then slowly shifted his gaze downward, where her left hand rested against the inside of his right leg; her thumb was gently rubbing up and down in a motion that had become so casual, Penny had forgotten she was doing it.

She tried to maintain a serious expression, but then burst out laughing, tipping her head to lean against his shoulder. "Okay, you've got me there."

Leonard grinned, slipping an arm around her. "So, how are we going to do this? Would I move in with you or would you stay here?"

Penny's eyes widened slightly. Somehow, throughout all her ponderings on the subject, she'd failed to consider that aspect of them living together.

"If we moved into your apartment," he continued. "Sheldon wouldn't like that. And if we moved out of the building, Sheldon wouldn't like that. But, if you moved in here...well, no offense, but Sheldon wouldn't like that either."

The waitress nodded, thinking. "My apartment's pretty small; I doubt all of your things would fit in there. Most of my stuff would probably fit here, but if I brought any of it over..."

"Sheldon would hate that," they said in unison.

Penny sighed. "Well, what would he hate the least? What would have the smallest impact on his life?"

"You moving in here would mean that he'd only have to adjust the roommate agreement to account for you, and then he wouldn't have to look for a new roommate, and then we wouldn't end up seeing him murdered by said new roommate."

Penny nodded. "So, we should move in here."

"I know that means we wouldn't be completely on our own, but...we could look at it as a sort of trial run," Leonard said, beginning to look excited. "Obviously we wouldn't live with Sheldon forever, we could just live with him for now, see how it goes, and then eventually find our own place if we want to."

The waitress smirked. "Trying to start up another beta test, are you?"

He cocked his head. "You have to admit, that ended up working pretty well."

She kissed his cheek. "Yes, it did." Penny grinned when he pulled her closer. "So, who gets to break the news to Dr. Whackadoodle?"

"Maybe it should be a group effort," Leonard suggested. "We go in as a unified force."

His comment made Penny laugh. "Sounds like a plan."

**This fic will focus more on Sheldon soon; it's not going to only be about Leonard and Penny, otherwise, my summary for this fic would kinda sorta suck. :) Reviews are welcome!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Nothing is owned by me.**

"I don't understand." The theoretical physicist frowned down at the objects causing his confusion while his roommate and neighbour stared at him intently. "Why did you buy me this robot and a comic book?"

"Well," Leonard said, glancing at Penny. "You're our friend and we care about your happiness, so we decided to do something nice for you." The couple smiled at Sheldon, smiles so innocent that they would have made anyone other than the theoretical physicist automatically suspicious.

"Well, thank you," said Sheldon, eyeing the robot once more before placing it on the coffee table. "I appreciate the gesture."

"Good, good." Penny nodded, a little too enthusiastically. "And how was your tangerine chicken? Do you want me to take your plate?"

"For food that was in no way tangerine chicken, it was quite good."

"What do you mean it wasn't tangerine chick –actually, never mind. Let me grab that for you." The waitress got to her feet, picking up Sheldon's plate and utensils and carrying them off to the kitchen. "Oh, and I brought your favourite cheesecake home from work!" she called over her shoulder.

Again, Sheldon frowned, perplexed. "Why would you bring cheesecake home for dessert if Leonard can't have any?" He raised an eyebrow at his roommate.

"Because sometimes it's important to put your needs before ours," Leonard explained. "Just like it's important for you to sometimes put our needs before yours..."

"I see." Sheldon nodded thoughtfully. "I think I understand what's going on here."

"You do?" Leonard asked, glancing at Penny as she returned to the living room with Sheldon's cheesecake.

"Yes," he sighed. "Clearly, the two of you have struck up another argument and, out of concern for how it will affect me, are pretending nothing's wrong by acting civil and trying to win me over with food and toys." He began fishing for something in his pocket. "You probably thought it was a very clever plan, but obviously you failed to take into account" –he pulled his cell phone from his pocket –"that I'm smart as a whip." He waved his phone and gave the two a smug smile when it produced a whipping sound.

"No, Sheldon, sweetie, we're not fighting," Penny assured him.

He scoffed. "Please, Penny, why else would you have gotten cheesecake for dessert if not to appease me while simultaneously rubbing it in your lactose intolerant boyfriend's face? Which, I might add, while transparent, is a brilliant strategy, kudos." He made the whip noise again.

"No, seriously, Sheldon, we aren't fighting," Leonard said. "We just – we have something we want to talk to you about."

"Does it have anything to do with shoes, infants, or Goofy?"

"...no," Leonard said, drawing out the word in his confusion.

"Then proceed."

The experimental physicist clasped his hands together. "Alright, well, remember about a week ago, when you said we were living together, according to the roommate agreement?"

"I never said you were living together, I merely informed you that if you spent one more night together, then you would be deemed living together. And thank the Lord we didn't cross into that territory."

Leonard and Penny exchanged uneasy looks, but then Leonard forged on. "Right, exactly. So, with that in mind, Penny and I discussed things, and decided that...hey, we're going to live together!" He tried to finish his sentence off sounding excited, but fear of his roommate's reaction made it sound hollow.

Sheldon's eyes widened. "You're moving out?" he asked, shocked. "I won't allow it."

"Actually, we were thinking Penny would move _in_," Leonard explained, placing his hand on top of his girlfriend's right one.

The theoretical physicist shook his head. "No, I forbid it."

"Oh, come on, Sheldon," Penny whined. "I'd be a good roommate."

Her neighbour gave a snort of derision. "Highly unlikely. I've seen the state you keep your apartment in with the unwashed dishes in the sink, the clothes strewn all over the apartment, and the complete lack of organization; you'd send this place into disarray in ten seconds flat."

"Sheldon, I promise I'll be neat," Penny said. "I'll follow whatever organizational system you have and I won't leave any of my crap lying around, I'll just keep most of that stuff in Leonard's room."

"Well, I'd prefer to keep my room tidy as well –" Leonard broke off when Penny shot him a look. "Um, but we can figure that out later."

"There'll be nothing to figure out, Leonard, because Penny will not be living here."

"Sheldon, what is it that's so horrible about me moving in here?" Penny sighed, exasperated.

"Aside from your untidiness and various annoying habits, the current set up we have with our two apartments functions perfectly and I simply cannot sacrifice that," he explained. "Your apartment provides a place of sanctuary in case I return home from work and find that someone has invaded the apartment or, in the opposite scenario, it provides me with a place to send the invaders should they come when I _am_ home." The theoretical physicist ignored the dark look the waitress gave him. "In addition, if Leonard ever falls ill, I have a place to quarantine him."

"Sheldon, that's insane!" Leonard argued.

"Not insane, logical."

Penny sighed, putting a hand to her face for a moment and then turned to face her neighbour. "Look, Sheldon, I will sign the roommate agreement, I'll follow your schedule as best I can; if Leonard gets sick _I _will take care of him, and any invaders that come in here, I'll beat with my baseball bat, but, _please_, can you try to understand that this is something Leonard and I both really want. And if we can't live here, then my apartment is too small and we'll have to leave the building, and we're not ready to leave you just yet."

"Well..." Another look from Penny silenced Leonard yet again.

A look came over Sheldon's face that the two couldn't quite describe. He quickly turned his gaze down to his hands which he had begun to fidget with. He stayed like that, silent and twitching, for almost a full minute before quietly speaking again. "And you're certain you'd _have_ to leave if I said no?" The theoretical physicist sighed when the couple nodded, then, still not looking at them, he said, "Fine."

The couple grinned at each other and then turned to smile at Sheldon. "Thank you," Leonard said, squeezing Penny's hand. "This means a lot to us."

"Yes, yes, you're welcome," he said dismissively, rising from his spot. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go start drafting the new sections of the roommate agreement."

Leonard nodded and then leaned over to kiss Penny's forehead.

"Oh! Thank you for reminding me," Sheldon called from where he stood at the entrance to the hall. "I'll need to include a section on PDA in there."

Leonard smirked. "Still want to move in?"

Penny rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I didn't really think that through."


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

"Dammit!" Penny narrowed her eyes as she watched her quarter spin on her coffee table just inches away from the cup she'd been aiming for.

Amy, who sat next to her, shook her head. "You're still bouncing it too hard," she said, readying her own quarter so she could give the waitress another example. "Simply flicking your wrist more should give a sufficient amount of power." The neurobiologist demonstrated this, her coin flying straight into the cup as it had the last six times she'd shown Penny and Bernadette –Penny doing the worst thus far. Considering she'd played this game more times than the neurobiologist and microbiologist put together, this was pretty sad. They weren't even playing with alcohol –just practicing –which made it even worse.

Biting her lip in concentration, the waitress picked up another quarter and bounced it off the table, trying to flick her wrist like Amy had shown her. Her eyes widened in surprise when the coin landed in the cup.

Amy beamed. "Perfect. Couldn't have asked for a brighter student."

Bernadette frowned, leaning over from where she sat on the other end of the couch to look at the neurobiologist. "I got my quarter in on the first try after you showed me how."

She nodded in affirmation. "Yes, it was very nice." She leaned toward Penny, shaking her head. "Again, so insecure," she whispered.

Penny rolled her eyes playfully. She tried her luck at bouncing the quarter again, and, again, it went in. She grinned. Considering she usually played against Amy and Bernadette, getting the quarter in the cup twice in a row wouldn't do her much good, but she'd probably have a thing or two to show her sister the next time she visited home.

"Onto more pressing matters," Amy said, turning to face Penny. "Bestie, Sheldon has informed me that you intend to move in with him and Leonard."

"Oh, he told you that?" Penny asked.

"Well, actually he told me that you intend to ruin his life and then clarified how, but I thought I'd paraphrase to spare your feelings."

The waitress rolled her eyes. "Thanks," she said, only slightly sarcastically.

"So, you're really moving in with Sheldon?" Bernadette asked, eyes wide.

"And Leonard."

The microbiologist shrugged. "Yeah, but if I was moving in there, all I'd be able to process would be 'I'm living with _Sheldon Cooper_'."

Amy smiled, nodding. "Me, too," she sighed, clearly not understanding her friend's point at all.

Penny shrugged. "Well, yeah, it'll be an adjustment, but Leonard's lived with Sheldon for almost ten years, it's obviously not impossible to live with him," she reasoned. "And, anyway, if he gets out of line, I know who to call."

"Who?" Amy asked, looking confused.

"Mrs. Cooper. One phone call and Shelly's set back in line. Anyway," Penny said as the neurobiologist nodded thoughtfully. "We're going to start moving my stuff over to 4A on Saturday and if you two aren't busy, we could really use the help."

"The three of you can't handle it on your own?" Bernadette asked.

"I could, but the guys would probably tire out after fifteen minutes and I don't want them hurting themselves," the waitress explained, remembering the time Sheldon had thrown out his back handing Howard a library book.

"Ah." Bernadette nodded, seeming to be caught up in her own memory of one of the guys' many injuries.

"A good plan," Amy agreed. "Sheldon's recently taken to critiquing my first aid when it comes to dealing with splinters. I've tried to explain to him that I'd do a better job if he wouldn't squirm, but he's set in his ways. Oh, and, Bestie." The neurobiologist shifted to face the waitress better. "Before I forget, can I have Mrs. Cooper's number?"

* * *

Howard's Wii controller clattered to the floor. "Penny's moving in here?" he asked, his shock plain on his face.

Leonard nodded, eyebrows raised due to his friends reaction. "Yep, in a couple of days."

Howard nodded, clasping his hands together. "I see, and are you _purposefully _trying to get her to break up with you?"

Leonard scowled at the engineer's serious yet mocking tone. "She's not going to break up with me, Howard, we decided on this together."

"Were you drunk when you decided on it?" Raj asked, taking a sip of his beer.

The experimental physicist rolled his eyes, leaning back in his chair. "Despite what the two of you may think Penny and I _are_ capable of making beneficial and rational decisions together."

"Well, the reason we find that hard to believe is that _this is not a rational decision_!" The engineer said, yelling in somewhat of a whisper so as not to actually raise his voice, but still get his point across.

"Darn right, it's not rational," Sheldon said before Leonard could argue. Unlike the other three he had continued to play _Mario Kart_ after Leonard had sprung the news on Raj and Howard, for once in his life in first place. "This is going to be hell, absolute hell."

"Sheldon, remember, you agreed you'd try to stay positive about this."

Except for a slight twitch of his cheek muscle, Sheldon made no angry or irritated faces at the reminder. He simply cleared his throat and a moment later said in the most deadpanned voice, "This is not going to be hell. This is not going to be hell at all."

"And, you're using sarcasm to lie, right?"

"You're darn right I am."

The experimental physicist suppressed a sigh. Sure, Sheldon had ultimately agreed to the new living arrangements because he didn't want to lose Leonard or Penny, but that didn't stop him from still disliking Penny moving in. There was just no happy middle ground that the theoretical physicist could find – except for nothing changing at all, but he'd stopped trying to make that happen when the "subtle" hints he'd been dropping Leonard and Penny didn't work. Leonard hoped it would all work out, and why shouldn't it? Sheldon had gotten used to having him as a roommate. Of course, he was neater than Penny, had the same work schedule as Sheldon, and knew more about science and science fiction... But Sheldon was going to sort all that out in the new roommate agreement anyway...although, that thought didn't make Leonard feel any better.


	6. Chapter 6

**I still don't own anything, a fact that won't be changing throughout this fic, but whatever.**

"There," Amy said, neatly wrapping the band-aid around her boyfriend's index finger. "All better."

"Well, not _technically _better, just covered up – no, you're right! All better!" he finished quickly at the stern look she gave him.

Penny frowned at the two, folding her arms across her chest. "I still don't understand how you managed to get a splinter carrying my chair over here," she said, glancing at her heavily cushioned chair, the only wood it contained being in the form of the four small pegs that acted as its legs. You didn't even need to touch them in order to lift the chair.

"I made a boo-boo, alright?" Sheldon snapped. "And then, as Newton's third law dictates, it gave me a boo-boo back." He glanced down bitterly at his bandaged finger. "And I don't hear you griping about how Leonard's foot _magically_ appeared under the chair leg just as I was setting it down."

The waitress rolled her eyes. "His foot didn't magically appear there, you dropped the chair right in front of where he was standing when you got your splinter."

"Yes, well...he could've moved," Sheldon mumbled, disquieted. Leonard, who was sitting on the couch nursing his sore foot, rolled his eyes. "The chair doesn't really work in the room anyway," he continued, still trying to make some sort of case for himself.

Raj, who was slumped on the couch along with Howard and Leonard – all of them in a sweat and having shed most of their various layers -, leaned over to whisper in the engineer's ear.

"Raj likes the couch," Howard informed them. "He's excited about not having to sit on the floor anymore."

The astrophysicist nodded, grinning and giving Penny a thumbs up. The waitress returned the gesture and then beamed at Sheldon. She'd won this round.

"Okay, this is the last box!" The six turned towards the doorway and saw a box with Bernadette's feet and hands sticking out from underneath it. The box entered the apartment and then the microbiologist came into view, bringing the box inside and setting it down in a seemingly effortless manner. The boys' mouths hung open – Raj looked about ready to simply slide off the couch, as though he'd given up completely.

"Weakest member, my ass," Bernadette muttered to Penny, nodding towards the guys. The waitress smirked. "What are you going to do with the rest of the stuff in your apartment?" she asked.

"Put some of it in storage," Penny explained. "In case we need it later on. The rest I can probably just sell."

"I don't suppose any of the items you intend to sell include your collection of shoes?" Sheldon asked, doing his best not to sound hopeful.

"Not even the ones you yakked all over."

"You still have those – never mind."

Penny grinned and then turned to face the rest of the group. "Okay, I guess I'm all moved," she said, clasping her hands together.

"Not quite, there's still the new roommate agreement to attend to," Sheldon reminded her.

Penny fought back the urge to roll her eyes. "Fine, I guess we can do that now."

"Hang on," Howard said, drawing out the first word and raising a hand up. "Penny, Raj and I have each pulled like ten different muscles moving your stuff for you; kindly spare us the further torture of listening in on a signing of the roommate agreement."

Penny glanced at the theoretical physicist. "Alright, fine," he said, waving a hand dismissively. "We'll do it tomorrow. It'll give me time to strengthen my finger for all the signing I'll have to do."

Amy grinned. "My boyfriend and my Bestie living in the same apartment," she sighed somewhat dreamily. "You're a lucky man, Leonard."

The experimental physicist smiled for a moment, then slowly began to frown at the neurobiologist, shaking his head slightly in confusion. He decided it would never be a good idea for Penny, Sheldon, and Amy to ever share an apartment.


	7. Chapter 7

**I don't own anything.**

Sheldon sighed. "Well that's disappointing."

Penny glanced at Leonard who merely smirked in response. "Sheldon, you really thought there was a chance that I was going to invent time travel?"

"Not really, but I wasn't about to risk it by not making you sign," he said, returning his attention back to the pile of papers strewn across the coffee table. "Now," he continued. "As I'm sure you're aware, the apartment flag is a golden lion rampant of a field of azure. Only turn it upside down if the apartment is in distress." He held up a hand. "And just to clarify, you being unable to find a certain pair of shoes does _not_ qualify as the apartment being in distress."

Penny rolled her eyes. "I didn't think it did." And she sure as hell wasn't going to turn their apartment flag fridge magnet upside down and expect her shoes to magically reappear.

The theoretical physicist scanned the page in his hand. "Alright, let's get down to the serious stuff: public displays of affection."

"Sheldon Cooper is hereby required to give me one friendly hug a week?" Penny asked, playfully hopeful.

"Don't be silly. Then they wouldn't be special," he said, not looking away from the sheet of paper. "I am, of course, referring to the amorous activities and such that are undoubtedly the primary reason for Penny's moving in here."

The couple rolled their eyes at each other, Penny fighting back an exasperated sigh. This was the part she'd been dreading. So far, the signing of the roommate agreement hadn't been that bad. She had been given a few responsibilities in the form of various chores that would keep the apartment neat and a list and diagram that specified exactly _how_ to keep the apartment neat. Even working out the television schedule had gone well with the three being able to account for the boys' sci-fi shows and Penny's reality shows, but PDA...that was going to be a different story entirely, she was sure.

"To start, regarding displays of affection such as kissing or hand holding, if I don't see it, the two of you are in the clear; if I _am _around, please attempt to restrain yourselves. However, you are allowed three displays of affection in my presence per month, provided they are spur of the moment. For example, Penny, if Leonard were to buy you some sort of gift, such as a tiara, and you were unable to control yourself." Penny couldn't help but grin at that.

"A _tiara_?" Leonard asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Merely an example," Sheldon said hastily, shooting Penny a look to keep her quiet. "Moving on, regarding coitus...you kids have fun." A suspiciously innocent smile came over the theoretical physicist's face, one that sent a shudder running down Penny's spine.

"Seriously?" Leonard asked, straightening up in his chair.

"Bazinga, of course not," Sheldon said, chuckling. "The easy way in which the two of you fall prey to my classic practical jokes never fails to amuse me."

"Glad we could provide you with some entertainment," Leonard mumbled. "See how much fun we'll be to live with?" he said sarcastically.

Sheldon raised a hand. "Don't get carried away, Leonard. Now, in all seriousness, based on a record I've been keeping of how frequently the two of you engage in sexual intercourse per week –"

"I'm sorry, a _record_ you've been keeping?" Penny demanded, incredulous.

"Yes." He nodded as though it were the most normal thing in the world. "Anyway, my notes indicate that coitus occurs at least three to four times a week. You may continue that pattern so long as you give me twelve hours notice before the, as Howard would put it, dance with no pants begins, and I find your scheduling suitable."

"Sheldon, that's ridiculous!" Leonard argued. "This is not something we can plan twelve hours in advance, and even if it was, we most certainly would not want to tell you about it!"

The theoretical physicist merely shrugged. "Feel free to retain a lawyer."

"Sheldon –"

"To continue," he said loudly. "Regarding the fridge, Leonard and I will no longer have two separate shelves and a communal one; we will each have our own shelf and the door will become communal. However, if anyone – _Penny_ – is caught harbouring expired food or drink, regardless of the space being personal or not, they will be denied access to the fridge for however many days the item has been expired."

"Sheldon, you can't –"

"And finally!" Penny and Leonard glanced at each other worriedly. As anticipated, this had taken a turn for the worst and there didn't seem to be any arguing with Sheldon or any loop holes in sight. "Penny, please sign here to indicate that in the event of a tie, my vote or decision wins."

The waitress frowned at the paper he shoved under her nose. "I don't want that."

"But, I do. And I decide all ties."

Penny rolled her eyes, this time allowing herself the exasperated sigh, and was about to argue, when Leonard interrupted.

"Hang on," he said, a small smile coming over his face. "I said no to that when I signed the agreement."

"Yes, and I said yes, and I decide all ties," Sheldon said, sounding slightly irritated at having to explain again.

"Well, if Penny also says no to that, then we have a majority, and _you no longer decide all ties_!" he exclaimed, his voice growing in excitement until it was almost a yell. Penny didn't think she'd ever seen him so enthusiastic over something involving the roommate agreement before. "Sign here, sign here," he said, pointing to a line on the paper.

Penny did as she was told. The minute her pen left the paper, Leonard pulled her face to his, eagerly planting a firm kiss on her lips.

"One spur of the moment public display of affection used up for the month," he said when he pulled away, sounding breathless – partly due to the kiss and partly due to his elation – and grinning from ear to ear.

Sheldon on the other hand, had lost any eagerness he'd had over the signing of the new roommate agreement, and was beginning to twitch. He opened his mouth to speak, but then promptly closed it, seeming to rethink his word choice. He did this several times, always ending up stuck and silent until he eventually got to his feet. "Alright, you've won this round, but mark my words, if I find anything expired in that fridge...there'll be hell to pay."

"Hang on," Penny said before he could leave. "There's just a few details I'd like to settle regarding scheduling our _amorous activities_ now that we have a majority. But don't worry, we'll be quiet," she assured him when the theoretical physicist's eyes narrowed down to slits. Well, as quiet as they could be anyway. Penny made a note to buy him another comic book and robot; hopefully those would heal any trauma this roommate meeting had just caused.


	8. Chapter 8

Penny sat at the foot of the bed, her legs crossed and her hands in her lap. Looking out the window, she could make out the faint light of little stars twinkling amidst the sharp city lights that always seemed to shine brighter but could never out-due the far off little fires.

It was the first night. The first night of sleeping in Leonard's bedroom – _their_ bedroom – and of having all her stuff here and of knowing there was nowhere else but here to call her resting place. It was the first night that 4A was her home, that Leonard and Sheldon were her home – though, even while living across the hall, she'd thought of them as that, it was the first night of it being official.

She remembered her first night in 4B, not very different from tonight. She had been happy, sitting on the edge of her bed, gazing around and familiarizing herself with her new room. She'd just gotten back from the karaoke bar with the guys, and – much unlike that morning when she'd been angry at Kurt, in a sweat from moving, and let down by her non-functional shower – she'd felt at home. She'd found friends in her new neighbours and in their friends, as well. She'd found people she felt at ease with, people who brought her comfort and happiness; she couldn't have found a better place to call home. Until tonight.

That night all those years ago, Penny never would have thought she'd eventually be moving into 4A to be with Leonard, but she was happy to be proven wrong in this case.

The sound of the door opening jolted the waitress out of her thoughts. She smiled when Leonard came through the door, back from brushing his teeth.

"There's my favourite roommate," she said, flashing him a playful grin.

Leonard smirked. "You seem to have made that decision rather quickly."

"Eh, there's not much competition when one of you is my adorable little homunculus." She leaned forward and tapped his lower lip with her index finger before kissing him when he joined her on the bed. "Happy first night," she whispered as she pulled away.

He smiled, taking her right hand in his. "Happy first night." They stayed like that for a few minutes, letting the moment linger and fully sink in. Then Leonard glanced up at the head of the bed. "So...are we planning on celebrating the first night?" he asked.

Penny followed his gaze up to the bed, even though she knew full well what he was getting at. Commemorating the first night that way was definitely her first choice, and she was just about to take Leonard's face between her hands and pull him into a laying position, but she stopped herself.

"I don't know...do you think Sheldon's suffered enough for one day?" she asked rather reluctantly, biting her lip.

Leonard frowned, his face losing the playful quality it'd had a moment ago. "Yeah, he probably he has," he agreed sounding just as reluctant as her. Penny nodded along with him and the two were silent for a moment. "So, I guess we just wait until midnight, then," Leonard said, still nodding his head.

His tone of voice caused Penny to burst out laughing; she put a hand on his shoulder, squeezing it as she giggled.

Leonard laughed along with her. "It _is _technically morning," he pointed out.

"True dat, Stallion." She kissed his cheek. "But I think we should be nice to Giraffe tonight."

"Okay," he said, sighing with over exaggerated disappointment.

"But," she said, placing a hand on his arm. "We should still make tonight a little special."

Leonard cocked his head and grinned, seeming to know what she was getting at. "Snuggling?"

"All night long, honey."

Moving her hand from his arm and into his own, she pulled him up onto the bed with her. She drew back the covers and the two slipped underneath, both turning on their sides so they could face each other. Penny cuddled up to him as close as possible, her nose and forehead coming to rest against his; she grinned, moving her head back and forth slightly to nuzzle his face. His arms wrapped tightly around her and she moved down in order to rest her head against his chest.

Penny loved these nights just snuggling with Leonard, where they only needed each other to feel as warm and comfortable as possible. All of her nights were going to be like this now; the two of them side by side just like this. No, the Penny sitting in 4B for the first night never would've been able to dream of this –as being as happy and loved as this.

"Mmm," Leonard said, surprised when she raised her head and pushed her lips up against his. "I thought we weren't going to..." He trailed off when she deepened the kiss.

"Just a few minutes of this and then...and then it'll be right back to snuggling," she said in between kisses.

"You do realize that you almost always say that and it hardly ever turns out that way," he said. She could feel him grinning into her lips.

She pulled back for a moment. "Why are you arguing?" she laughed, half amused and half exasperated.

He opened his mouth to respond, but then seemed to think better of it, shaking his head. "I have no idea," he said before leaning back in and capturing her mouth in his.

No matter how right Leonard was, Penny was determined not to take things too far tonight out of respect for her other new roommate. She was sure she could do it. Almost one hundred percent positive. They'd only kiss for a few minutes...maybe just until midnight, at which point she'd try very hard to forget what Leonard had pointed out earlier.


	9. Chapter 9

"These past two weeks have been an absolute nightmare."

Amy turned her attention away from the caged monkeys that were racing across the tree branches, and fixed it on her boyfriend, who, by the look of his narrowed eyes, seemed unaffected by the impish charms of the furry primates.

"I assume you're referring to your current living situation, but it baffles me as to how cohabitating with the most perfect person on the planet could be a nightmare," Amy said.

Sheldon scoffed. "Please, Amy, don't allow your friendship with Penny to cloud your judgement; she is far from perfect." The neurobiologist was about to protest that her friendship with the waitress was what made it so clear that she was perfect, but he forged on before she could. "Penny spends her time watching mundane reality television shows while multitasking by either reading uninformative magazines or doing her nails, and she does all this while sprawled out across our couch, barely an inch away from my spot. Oh, and sometimes" – Sheldon paused and raised a hand, as if trying to accentuate the seriousness of Penny's next transgression – "she _sings_." He kept going when Amy merely raised an eyebrow. "At the same time."

"Doesn't that drown out the television and solve your problems right there?" Amy asked.

"The television is the lesser of two evils! _Anything_ is the lesser of two evils when it comes to that off-key, country music caterwauling."

"Did you specify in the roommate agreement that she wasn't allowed to sing?"

The theoretical physicist looked away, beginning to fidget with his hands. "No," he mumbled quickly. "I forgot to. But, in my defense!" he added. "I was much more concerned with prohibiting coitus and all other amorous activities, which the two have already managed to circumvent."

Part of the neurobiologist sympathized with her boyfriend's plight, understanding how difficult all of these changes must be for him, but the other part was merely curious as to how Leonard and Penny seemed to be getting around some of Sheldon's rules, and what she might be able to learn from them to apply to her troubles regarding the relationship agreement.

Putting that thought aside, Amy reached for Sheldon's hand and dragged him away from the monkeys, leading him down the twisting, paved path that ran around the zoo.

"She also made pancakes this morning." His continuing the conversation and not objecting to the fact that they were holding hands made Amy grateful.

"I thought you liked pancakes."

"Not with chocolate chips in them, I don't."

Amy nodded, committing this piece of information to memory. She and Sheldon had always done their best to remember every fact they learned about each other, but it wasn't until recently that they'd decided to make a new game out of it, each week comparing how many facts they knew. So far, she was in the lead, and she wasn't about to fall behind come Sunday evening share time.

"It _has_ only been a couple of weeks," she reasoned, returning to the conversation. "I'm sure my Bestie will become accustomed to the ways of 4A soon enough."

Sheldon sighed. "I admire the faith you have in others, Amy Farrah Fowler, but I'm afraid I don't share it. Penny's had over five years to observe my patterns and learn my various schedules; she should be an expert by now, or at the very least be aware that my pancakes are plain excluding syrup."

Amy didn't respond; they'd reached her desired destination: the koala bear cages. The couple turned their attention to the creatures, still hand in hand.

"Aw, there's that smile." Amy grinned when a boyish grin spread across her boyfriend's face, his koala face coming into full form.

"Thank you, Amy Farrah Fowler," he said, turning to smile at her for a moment. It was different from his koala smile, but Amy thought she liked it just a little bit better, especially since it was trained on her.

"You're welcome, Sheldon Cooper." She squeezed his hand and smiled when he didn't pull away.

* * *

"Hey, Sheldon," Penny said that evening when the theoretical physicist entered the apartment, having just returned from his pre-evening out with Amy.

"Hello," he said, giving her a small nod. She was on the couch again, spread out across it, her bare feet nearly touching his spot. She was painting her fingernails, and Sheldon had no doubt that she'd soon move onto her toes, putting his spot in even more danger. And, of course she was watching a reality show, as well. Of course. Dr. Cooper simply couldn't catch a break.

"That's cute, did Amy get that for you?" Penny asked.

"Yes." Sheldon glanced down at the tiny stuffed koala bear in his hand. "She told me I could stare at it whenever I was sad or had to pretend to be okay with any number of your irksome habits."

"Oh. How nice," Penny said sarcastically.

"Yes, I appreciated the gesture," he agreed, coming to sit down in his spot. Unfortunately, the waitress' feet were still a little too close for Sheldon's liking, and he stared at them in distaste, willing them to disappear. When that didn't work, he lifted his gaze to meet Penny's, raising an eyebrow at her. She mimicked his expression, raising an eyebrow of her own. The two roommates stared at each other for a moment, waiting to see who would break first until, finally, Penny narrowed her eyes and then slowly slid her feet back a few inches. Sheldon merely gave a smug nod in response.

"Where's Leonard?" Sheldon asked, suddenly realizing that the experimental physicist didn't appear to be home.

"He had to go into work late to get some time using an electric laser," Penny replied, momentarily turning her attention away from her fingernail painting and glancing at the TV.

"You mean the _electron_ laser," he corrected.

"Yeah, exactly. That thing." Penny waved a hand dismissively before he could explain any further, sitting up to get a better view of the television.

Sheldon, now rather disgruntled, followed her gaze to the TV screen, curious to see what was so much more important than differentiating between the two lasers. There was a long line of people on a beach, each with a bamboo table in front of them. They all appeared to be trying to solve some sort of puzzle.

"What are you watching?" he asked. Amy had also advised him to try and take an interest in what Penny was doing before resorting to the koala bear for solace.

"_Survivor_," Penny replied, her voice somewhat distant as she trained all of her focus on the show.

"Why are they trying to solve that puzzle?" It was baffling to him as to why none of them had figured it out yet. One quick glance at the screen and he already knew how to solve it.

"It's an immunity challenge. Whoever solves the puzzle first can't be voted out."

"Why don't they want to be voted out?" It was currently raining on this beach, and all of the contestants were covered in grime from head to toe; if Sheldon were there, he'd want to get as far away from that island as possible.

Penny frowned at him slightly and then shook her head. "If you get voted out then you can't win the prize money."

"I see. Do you think _any_ of them are truly deserving of that money if they haven't even been able to solve this puzzle yet?"

Penny shrugged. "Not all of them are genius scientists, Sheldon. It's going to take them longer to solve than it would take you."

"It would take genius scientists longer to solve than me, too." Penny merely smirked and rolled her eyes. "You know," he continued. "There's a _Doctor Who_ marathon on that we could switch, too."

"But I want to see the end of this," Penny protested. "And we agreed that I could have the TV on Wednesday nights from eight till nine."

Sheldon looked down at the koala in his lap, trying to neutralize the irritation building inside of him. Things had been a lot simpler when he and Leonard had sorted out television schedules, seeing as they both enjoyed the same programs, except for _Babylon 5_. Penny brought a whole host of mundane series to the table, forcing him to listen to the incessant jabber of the contestants and hosts, as he could hear it anywhere he was in the apartment. Nevertheless, he _had_ allotted her the eight to nine Wednesday timeslot, so she was following the roommate agreement; he and his koala bear would just have to cope.

"Hey, it's freezing in here, do you mind if I turn the thermostat up?"

The theoretical physicist kept his eyes fixed on the koala, but even the endearing way it held its plush stalk of bamboo to its mouth wasn't enough to keep him from springing into action.

Leonard slowly made his way up the stairs. He hated working late, especially in the middle of the week, but he really needed time with the electron laser if he was going to get anywhere with his current experiment. At least Amy had picked Sheldon up from work for their trip to the zoo, and he hadn't had to leave work just for his roommate.

He was just nearing the top of the stairs that led to the fourth floor when he heard shouting coming from the apartment, voicing an argument Leonard was all too familiar with.

"Sheldon, for God's sake, it's just two degrees difference!"

"Two degrees difference between here and Hell!"

Yet another reason working late obviously wasn't a good thing for the experimental physicist.


	10. Chapter 10

"Morning," Leonard greeted his girlfriend when he entered the kitchen and found her facing the stove. "Making oatmeal," he observed. He came up behind her, sliding his arms around her stomach and resting his chin on her shoulder. "And it's a Monday; Sheldon should be happy."

Penny merely scoffed at that, placing the spoon she'd been stirring the breakfast with on the counter. "Yesterday he got mad at me for not putting my key in the bowl when I got home; I doubt anything, much less oatmeal, will make him happy."

Leonard frowned. "I thought he got mad because you reminded him that he once forgot his keys in the bowl and locked himself out?"

"Hey, whose side are you on?" she asked, only half joking. She turned away from the stove, putting her own arms around him and pressing herself up against his chest. "And I only reminded him of that because he was already cranky about the key bowl, so I'm innocent in this – sort of," she amended when Leonard raised an eyebrow at her.

He kissed her forehead. "Yeah, I know. And I'm sorry about all this." It had been a few weeks since Penny and Sheldon's argument over the thermostat and things hadn't gotten much better. Sheldon was becoming progressively more uptight and meticulous concerning the roommate agreement and Penny's behaviour. It surprised Leonard how strict Sheldon had become; for all the years they'd lived together, he'd never been stuck to it as much as he was now. And, come to think of it, he still wasn't acting that way towards Leonard, only Penny.

Penny shrugged. "It's not your fault. We both knew this would be an adjustment."

Leonard nodded. They _had_ known that, but he hadn't expected it to take this much of a toll on Sheldon. And then, by default, a toll on all of them. "On the plus side, I take it this means I'm in no danger of losing my title of favourite roommate." Penny playfully rolled her eyes before leaning in to kiss him.

"PDA," Sheldon said loudly as he entered the kitchen, doing his best to avert his eyes from the affectionate action that was about to take place.

Penny stepped away from Leonard and he lifted his hands from around her waist.

"Hey, Sheldon," Leonard said brightly, hoping a positive attitude would help keep his roommate happy. "Penny made oatmeal. That's nice. Isn't that nice?"

Sheldon and Penny both raised an eyebrow at him. Well, _he_ had thought enthusiasm would be a good idea.

Turning his attention away from the experimental physicist, Sheldon scrutinized the oatmeal on the stove, not saying a word. Leonard and Penny glanced at each other as he stared at the food.

Leonard was about to chance saying something, but then Sheldon spoke up. "You followed my oatmeal breakfast instructions exactly?" he asked. He began using his hand to waft the rising scent of oatmeal towards him, looking much like he had when inspecting his newly dry cleaned cushion after Penny shot it.

"I wouldn't have known how to make it otherwise."

Sheldon raised an eyebrow at her. "Sarcasm?"

"Not entirely." She _had_ made oatmeal before but, seeing as it wasn't one of her main breakfast dishes, she usually forgot the exact order of the steps in between making it. And, anyways, even if she knew how to make it off the top of her head, she still wouldn't have known how to make _Sheldon's_ oatmeal.

The theoretical physicist nodded slowly before taking a bowl and beginning to scoop the fluffy oats out of the steaming pot, all of his movements cautious.

Leonard, fighting the urge to roll his eyes, was certain that his roommate wouldn't make it out of the kitchen before finding something wrong with the breakfast and then go on to have one of his typical psychotic rants. However, he ended up pleasantly surprised. Once he had his oatmeal, Sheldon quietly exited the kitchen and retreated down the hall to his bedroom, not sparing Leonard or Penny a final glance.

A few minutes went by before the waitress spoke. "Was that...progress?"

Leonard frowned, still unsure what to make of his roommate's odd behaviour. "Possibly?" he replied, his confusion making the answer sound like a question.

Suddenly, Sheldon came rushing back down the hall. "There's a hair in this oatmeal!" he shouted, scrambling to open the trash bin and rid his bowl of the contaminated contents.

Nope. No progress.

**There is a reason for Sheldon acting abnormally meticulous, which will be addressed in a few chapters. And, no, Leonard and Penny aren't going to put all the blame on him for his attitude. Feel free to review. :)**


	11. Chapter 11

Penny lay splayed out across hers and Leonard's bed, fuming as she stared up at the ceiling. She had fixed her focus on a small hook that was sticking out of the ceiling, hoping to neutralize her fury by attempting to figure out what had once hung from it. She had narrowed it down to either a Death Star, a Millenium Falcon, or some sort of DNA molecule structure. Unfortunately, guessing that it was a DNA molecule simply reminded her that Sheldon had built something like that in his bedroom, and thinking about Sheldon fueled her anger right back up.

The waitress tipped her head back and let out a loud sigh. It was probably the hundredth exasperated sigh she'd let loose since she'd come in here. She couldn't believe he'd sent her to her room. Where the hell in the roommate agreement did it say he had jurisdiction to do that? And she hadn't even done anything wrong – well, she _had_, but...well, it had been an accident! That had to count for something.

She began thrumming her fingers against the mattress impatiently, glancing down at her cell phone. She'd texted Leonard, whom had been out buying groceries, about what had happened and he'd promised he'd be home as soon as possible; it felt like he was taking forever. Back home in Nebraska when Penny used to get sent to her room she would always accuse her parents of keeping her in there for longer than she'd been sentenced; they'd then show her the clock to prove her wrong always explaining that her anger and impatience had made the time seem to go by slower. Penny stopped the train of thought. Connecting her current punishment to the ones she'd received as a child made her feel all the more ridiculous and annoyed. She unleashed another sigh, this one coming out as more of a groan. _He'd sent her to her room!_

After what felt like an hour, but was really only fifteen minutes –though Penny refused to acknowledge that –Leonard returned.

"Hey," he said, coming around to sit on his side of the bed. "What happened?"

"I already told you," she grumbled. "He locked me in here."

"The door wasn't locked..."

"He said it was 'metaphorically' locked," she explained, rolling her eyes. "And that if I came out then I would feel the full extent of his wrath."

Leonard raised an eyebrow. "Did he get that from Raj?"

"I asked him, but that was a mistake because all it accomplished was getting my sentence extended to two hours."

He nodded, understanding. "But, what did you do to make him so angry?"

Penny sighed once again, folding her arms across her chest. "Well, first of all, I'd had a long day at work, so when I got home I decided to take a nap on the couch. Then Sheldon woke me up, ranting about my feet being in his spot and how it was a violation of the roommate agreement. And, secondly, I accidentally put a cup of yogurt on Sheldon's shelf in the fridge instead of mine and then it got expired, and he almost ate some of it, and now I'm in here," she huffed, pulling her arms even tighter around her for lack of anything better to do to blow off steam.

"Well," Leonard said, a slight grin forming on his face. "He did say that if he found anything expired in the fridge then there would be hell to pay – and that's not funny, I'll go talk to him," he finished hurriedly when he caught sight of the look she was giving him.

He re-entered the bedroom a few minutes later, closing the door behind him.

She sat up. "So?" she asked expectantly.

He clasped his hands together awkwardly and glanced at the floor before replying. "Um...say hello to your new cellmate?" His attempt to sound enthusiastic made his response sound like a question.

"Oh, come on!" she groaned, collapsing back onto the bed. The moment her back hit the mattress, she immediately sprang back up, hopping off the bed.

"What are you –" Leonard asked as Penny walked determinedly towards him. He was cut off when she pushed her mouth up against his.

Kissing him aggressively, she began tugging at his shirt to pull him back towards the bed. "He is going to be sorry he _metaphorically_ locked us in here," she said in between kisses, bringing him with her as she leaned back onto the bed. "If he's gonna play like this, then it is Junior Rodeo on."

"Mmm, Penny, hang on a second." Leonard gently pushed her off of him and then sat up so he was facing her. "I agree that Sheldon's meticulousness is getting out of hand, but, do you _really_ want to start another war with him?"

Penny looked down at the floor for a moment and then sighed. "No, I guess not." She held up a hand. "But I don't want to 'knuckle under' either." She _had_ been making some mistakes when it came to the roommate agreement, but she didn't think they were enough for her to deserve the kind of attitude Sheldon was unleashing on her.

"We could call his mother," Leonard suggested.

Penny shook her head. "I don't want to do that either." It was an easy route that would most certainly solve all of their problems, but she didn't want living in 4A to become peaceful because Sheldon was being forced to be nice to her. She wanted the three of them to coexist happily because it was genuinely a good fit for everyone.

"So, then, how do you want to deal with this?"

Penny leaned back onto the bed, her legs hanging over the side, thinking. "I'll be more careful about following the roommate agreement," she finally said. "Like I promised him I would. We're still not going along with telling him when we're going to have sex; that's knuckling under." Not to mention ridiculous, but she decided to leave that part out. "And I'll be neat, and do extra things that'll make him happy." Even if she had to cook spaghetti with hot dogs cut up in it every night or sit through a twelve hour _Doctor Who _marathon –though as much as she'd warmed up to it, she really hoped they didn't have those –she would make Sheldon Cooper happy to have her as a roommate. "How does that sound?"

Leonard nodded. "Pretty good, although, I think his biggest gripe is still that we managed to get around his protocols regarding intercourse. I don't see him letting that go easily."

"Well, we'll just have to work on being quiet," Penny said. "That was what upset him the most about it anyway, right? The decibel level? So long as he can't hear us, there shouldn't be a problem, right?"

"Yeah, that should work, but..." Leonard trailed off and then grinned at Penny. "Are you _sure_ you're capable of being quiet?"

The waitress rolled her eyes and gave him a nudge. "Please, it's _you_ we're going to have to worry about it." She smiled teasingly at him for a moment and then sat bolt upright. "We can make a game out of it! Whoever's the quietest wins!"

Her sudden enthusiasm caused Leonard to burst out laughing. "Oh, yeah?" he said. "What's the prize for winning?"

Penny raised her eyebrows at him suggestively. "Loser gets to surprise the winner."

Leonard pretended to look thoughtful for a moment. "Yeah, that sounds like something I'd definitely enjoy playing."

Penny grinned. Already Operation Make Sheldon Cooper Happy was looking pretty good.


	12. Chapter 12

Sheldon entered the apartment and then dropped his keys into the bowl beside the door. Leonard had just driven him home from the model train shop and then headed back to the university, having to work this Saturday evening. Much to the theoretical physicist's surprise, his roommate hadn't complained once about Sheldon failing to make other arrangements and hadn't even made any ludicrous suggestions like him riding the bus home without his bus pants. At first he'd been pleasantly surprised, however now he was just suspicious. It wasn't like Leonard to complete such an action in such a cheery fashion; from what Sheldon and Beverly had worked out about the experimental physicist, it didn't coincide with his narcissistic personality disorder at all. However, it wasn't just Leonard who had made an odd turn around.

Penny was also acting unusually pleasant towards him. Not only was she adhering to the roommate agreement completely, but she'd even begun doing extra things. The other day she'd picked up their takeout dinner, easily outdoing Leonard by ensuring that all of Sheldon's food standards were met. And last week she'd driven him to the comic book store, eagerly pointing out that her check engine light was no longer on –although Sheldon still wasn't entirely convinced that the light itself wasn't simply broken –and then proceeded to pay for his comic books.

It was quite odd. Sheldon didn't really mind these generous actions, in fact, he found them quite nice; it was the fact that Penny was now following the roommate agreement so flawlessly that bothered him. He couldn't have her obeying its every command without any apparent effort; she wasn't _supposed_ to be able to follow it! His entire plan hinged on her failure to comply with the demands of the roommate agreement.

The theoretical physicist shook his head. It was too early to starting worrying. All hope was not lost; his plan could still work. He'd just have to keep a closer eye on the waitress. In any case, this unusual behaviour that the resident couple were displaying had only been going on for a few weeks; they could easily tire of it and return to their normal routines. If it continued on for any longer than another week, then the theoretical physicist would take more serious action.

On a happier note, it was Saturday night, which, of course meant laundry night. Doing laundry would do him some good. He'd have a few hours of relaxation as he was comforted by the fact that his clothes were being ridded of any foreign invaders that had the potential to wake him up one morning with a bad cold or flu. The whirring sound of the washing machines would probably even bring back fond memories of him and his mother cleaning his clothes. And then he'd get to fold them. He loved folding them.

Already made sufficiently more cheerful by these thoughts, Sheldon entered his bedroom to retrieve his laundry hamper. It wasn't there. He frowned at the spot by his door where it usually sat. That couldn't be right. Just this morning the hamper had been nearly full to the top with his clothes, eagerly awaiting tonight when it would be ridded of its dirty contents. No one could have taken it; in order for someone to have taken it, they would have had to go into his bedroom and people didn't go in his bedroom. Oh dear Lord, someone had been in his bedroom!

The theoretical physicist found his breath coming in sharp gasps as the panic began to sink in. He tried to increase his alpha wave activity but it didn't seem to be doing much good. Exiting his bedroom, Sheldon hurried down the hall and then bolted out of the apartment and down the stairs, running even faster than he had the day Jimmy Speckermen had chased him and Leonard out of 4A. There was much more at stake this time.

He came to a halt in the doorway when he reached the laundry room. His hamper was there, now completely empty. It sat on the ground next to another hamper, though this one had a few folded shirts in it. And in front of the folding table stood Penny, Sheldon's _Flash_ T-shirt in her hands.

Sheldon wasn't sure exactly how much time passed before Penny noticed he was there; all he was certain of was that he'd started twitching the moment he'd seen his shirt.

"Hey, Sheldon," Penny said brightly, glancing at him momentarily before turning her attention back to the clothes.

"What are you doing with my laundry?" Sheldon demanded, finally stepping inside.

"Oh, yeah, I saw that your hamper was full, and I was going to wash mine and Leonard's anyways, so I figured I'd just do them at the same time." Without so much as a glance she tossed a pair of his pants into his hamper. Sheldon cringed.

"Do you mean to tell me that you bundled up all of our dirty laundry and threw it into one washing machine without even stopping to consider what sort of damage it could do to my clothes?"

Penny raised an eyebrow at him, lessening her folding pace. "Um...I guess so?" she replied, her hesitance making it sound like a question. "But, what does it matter if they all get washed in the same machine, I mean, they all end up clean."

"All get clean – Penny, my clothes are always washed separately!" Sheldon exclaimed. "Even my mother always did a separate load for me. How else do you think I managed to sleep at night?"

"Oh, still with great difficulty, I'm sure," Penny said, rolling her eyes. "Anyway, sweetie, I'm sorry, I didn't know. I just thought you'd like a Saturday night off from doing laundry."

"Laundry is my favourite thing about Saturday night!"

Again, the waitress raised her eyebrows, but then shook her head. "Okay, okay, I'm sorry. It won't happen again," she sighed. Then her face brightened. "Hey, how about I let you finish folding them?"

The theoretical physicist merely shook his head, feeling flustered. He hurriedly began snatching up his clothes from the folding table and tossing them into his hamper – though it pained him to not be able to fold them properly. Then he grabbed his basket and fled the laundry room. He raced up the stairs again, though not as fast this time due to the extra weight of the hamper and the fact that he was now going up and not down.

When he reached his bedroom, he immediately began sorting and folding the clothes, his movements made frantic by his panic and frustration. Of all the things to do a person! The only other person besides himself who got to do his laundry was his mother, and even then he was always hovering by her side, making sure she did things exactly right. Penny could have done anything to the clothes. Used too much fabric softener or too little. He'd seen the way she measured it –if one could call it measuring –he could be in store for any kind of shock with his clothes now.

Sheldon paused in his folding as a thought occurred to him, and glanced over at the notepad on his shelf and the roommate agreement that sat next to it. Penny had entered his bedroom without permission; that was a violation of the roommate agreement. At least some good had come of this laundry fiasco.


	13. Chapter 13

Amy's left hand was poised just above and to the side of her harp, ready to begin plucking the strings at any moment. Unfortunately, the neurobiologist had been ready for almost twenty minutes now, but a note had yet to be played.

"Sheldon," Amy said, trying to keep her voice level and remain calm. "Once again, you're turning boyfriend girlfriend sing along night into a disaster."

"My apologies, Amy," he said, not looking up from his notepad. He was sitting on the couch, the roommate agreement lying open on the cushion next to him. "I'm on a mission here."

"Well, I was on a mission for us to break our record of six songs in a night, but at the rate we're going we won't even get to Neon Trees' _Animal_." She turned away from the harp to face him. "Which, for the record, is song number three."

"And I do yearn to musically outdo ourselves, but, tonight, I'm on the verge of a breakthrough."

"What exactly are you trying to accomplish?" The neurobiologist abandoned her harp and came over to sit on the left arm of the couch, the arm closest to Sheldon.

"Penny's continuing to cohabit with me and Leonard has thrown the order I have strived so hard to achieve into chaos," he explained, finally looking up from his notepad. "Leonard and I had a good system in which the roommate agreement was followed to the letter. It accounted for all possibilities, always spelling out the right way to do things."

There it was again. The "right way". Her boyfriend's reaction was understandable given that he'd only ever experienced his idea of the "right way"; however, if he expected his new living situation to get any better, then he was going to have to bend a little.

"But even Leonard hasn't always followed the agreement exactly," Amy pointed out. "And I've never seen you get this strict or upset about it."

"However minor Penny's infringements may be it does not change the fact that her presence in our apartment changes everything. It completely throws off the balance that Leonard and I have spent ten years creating. Our existence in 4A drifts farther and farther away from the sciences and science fiction to a place where these clearly more important things have to be shared with the likes of romance and ... and other things that Penny enjoys that – that I do not enjoy!"

Ah, so this wasn't really about the roommate agreement after all. He was merely using it as a way to voice his displeasure at the change in dynamics that Penny had brought to the table. But one couldn't remain stagnant forever; the universe was continually changing, though it wasn't always perceivable. However, as he'd just stated, Sheldon's living situation had not been altered in quite a while. "Ten years is a long time," Amy began.

Sheldon nodded. "He and I are decade buddies." It was hard for the neurobiologist's heart not to melt as the corners of her boyfriend's mouth began to turn upward in an excited smile. "He doesn't know about the nickname yet, but I thought I might surprise him with coffee mugs that have that printed on them."

Amy smiled. "I'm sure he'd like that." She wondered if this meant Sheldon would take kindly to her getting them coffee mugs that had "Soulmates of the mind and of the heart" printed on them. It might be a little wordy, but she figured he'd appreciate the gesture. "But, to continue my train of thought, your relationship and living arrangements with Leonard have been going on for a long time; it's only natural that these dynamics would change eventually."

"It's not natural at all!" Sheldon retorted. "It's a whirling chaotic mess!"

"I'm only saying that you've reached a point where compromising and embracing the change is most likely the best course of action. It will allow for the three of you to be much happier together."

"But that's what's so great about what I'm doing," he said, lifting up the roommate agreement. "I've figured out a way where I don't have to compromise at all and everyone will still be happy." Amy raised an eyebrow. "By agreeing to let Penny move in with me and Leonard, I'm giving them what they want and asked for. Therefore, they're happy. Then, using the roommate agreement and Penny's obvious lack of discipline to my advantage, I become more strict about upholding the rules of the agreement and implement a punishment system until Penny no longer wants to live with us anymore. She'll move back into her apartment and Leonard and I will stay in our apartment and then I'll be happy." He grinned. "They got to test out their cohabitation experiment –which, let's be honest, would've no doubt failed even without my help, anyway –and then I ultimately get what I want; everyone wins."

Amy frowned. "Isn't that kind of inconsiderate?"

"_Inconsiderate?_ – no, _inconsiderate_ was Leonard inviting Penny over for lunch six years ago and creating this whole mess."

"How could it be inconsiderate when it brought one of the most perfect human beings who is, let's be honest, the total package, into your lives?" Sheldon merely snorted and then returned his focus to his notepad. The neurobiologist frowned again and clasped her hands together. How was it that people managed to not immediately agree with her when she stated facts about her bestie? "Do you dislike having Penny as a friend?"

Sheldon looked surprised by her comment. "Of course not. While it took some time, I've come to accept Penny as a valued member of our social group." He paused and held up a stern hand. "But as a _neighbour_, not a roommate."

"Haven't you considered that if it took some time for you to get used to Penny as neighbour, then that's all it will take to get used to her as a roommate?"

He waved a hand dismissively. "I already know I won't get used to it; it'd be illogical to assume otherwise."

"Well you haven't exactly been trying," Amy said, gesturing to his notepad. "How can you truly know if something's good or not if you've convinced yourself it'd be horrible before it even started?"

Sheldon turned to frown at her; she mirrored his expression. They stared at each other for what was – by Amy's count, and Sheldon's as well as she knew him well enough to know that he'd be timing, too –two minutes and eleven seconds before Sheldon broke the eye contact and began to gather up his notes and binder.

"You know, I don't think I'm up for singing tonight, I'll show myself out." And in a flash, he was out the door.


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

When Sheldon opened his eyes he immediately turned his head to face the clock. Six a.m. The theoretical physicist frowned. It was an hour too early. He'd trained his body to awaken at seven o'clock sharp, giving him enough time to go through his bedroom routine before he showered at seven-twenty. Then it was breakfast at eight and the bathroom at eight twenty. It was a perfect schedule that gave him time to fit in all of his morning activities while still guaranteeing him the recommended nine hours of sleep he'd grown accustomed to. Unfortunately, during the past week, he'd found himself afflicted with insomnia, only managing to get a few hours sleep in each night. He'd tried to tire himself out by staying up late to do more work on tightening up the roommate agreement, but that had done no good. Much to his dismay, Sheldon had determined that the sleepless nights had begun the day after his failed boyfriend girlfriend sing along night. This was certainly a problem. He didn't want to be plagued with thoughts of what Amy had said. He wanted to be right. And he _was_ right. His plan was working perfectly and soon enough things would be back to normal with Leonard as his sole roommate and Penny as his neighbour. The way things were supposed to be. The _right_ way.

Sheldon stayed in his bed for another hour, not even bothering to try and get back to sleep as he knew it wouldn't come, and getting up and then showering earlier than scheduled was just a ludicrous idea, so he simply laid there for the next sixty minutes. He considered working on increasing the severity of the timeout system he'd made for Penny in order to accelerate the process of getting her back across the hall, but he decided against it, not wanting to be reminded of Amy's final words at the moment. _How can you truly know if something's good or not if you've convinced yourself it'd be horrible before it even started? _It was absurd to ask him such a question. He'd had every right to assume the worst about living with Penny. He'd had six years to accumulate data and evidence that supported his theory. Granted because of the roommate agreement, she'd agreed to be more neat and had been living up to that promise thus far, and given that they'd split the cost for rent, wireless internet, and other accommodations in three she wasn't really using them for money anymore – but, no. He'd already decided that he wasn't going to think about what Amy had said.

He let out a sigh of relief when the numbers on his clock changed, finally allowing him to rise from his bed. The theoretical physicist prepared his notebooks before arranging them in his bag, and then gathered his clothes together and headed for the bathroom.

As he walked the short distance down the hall from his room to the bathroom door, Sheldon furrowed his brow in confusion. He could hear water running. Someone was in the shower. Someone was showering at seven-twenty, _his_ scheduled time, and throwing off the routine. Men of lesser intelligence than Dr. Sheldon Cooper wouldn't even have to guess who had done this.

_Knock, knock, knock _"Penny!" _How can you truly know if something's good or not if you've convinced yourself it'd be horrible before it even started? _

_Knock, knock, knock _"Penny!" Poor Amy Farrah Fowler.

_Knock, knock, knock _"Penny!" So blinded by her admiration for her bestie that she couldn't see just how right he was about this nightmare.

He didn't bother waiting for her to reply after knocking, he simply entered the bathroom. Penny groaned as he shut the door behind him.

"Penny, what exactly is going on here?" he demanded.

She sighed. "I'm showering."

"Yes, at seven-twenty!"

"I know, I know, I'm sorry," she said, her voice almost a whine. "But I had a really bad headache last night and forgot to set my alarm, so I woke up late and missed my shower time and I have to be at work in like twenty minutes!"

"Penny, it says explicitly in the roommate agreement that if you miss your shower time, you _lose_ your shower time."

"Again, I'm sorry," she said. "Look, I'm almost done, and this was a onetime thing, I promise! You can even give me a strike if you want!"

Sheldon scoffed. "Please, the strike system is long dead, thanks to you."

"Fine, then you can give me one of your stupid timeouts when I get home," she grumbled reluctantly.

He shook his head. "No, I'm afraid I need to take a more immediate course of action." The theoretical physicist stepped over to the toilet and then flushed it. A moment later Penny yelped and the sound of running water died as she turned the shower off.

"Sheldon!" She stuck her head out from behind the shower curtain, her eyes narrowed down to slits. "Really?" she demanded, incredulous.

"Really," he affirmed, setting his clothes down on the basket just below the towel rack. "I apologize, but it was a necessary course of action." He removed Penny's towel from the rack and tossed it to her. "Now that you're done in there, I'd like to salvage what I have left of my shower time."

* * *

Despite the fact that he was potentially one step closer to Penny returning to apartment 4B and becoming the valued neighbour while Leonard remained the valued roommate, Sheldon found the day rather unsatisfactory. The whole shower business had left him feeling rather unpleasant. He wasn't exactly sure why since his toilet flushing had managed to get him the shower still right on schedule and it had furthered his plan, but like his earlier conversation with Amy Farrah Fowler, he was trying not to dwell on it. In any case, that barely scraped the surface of his mediocre day. Leonard had had to go in early that morning, leaving the theoretical physicist to ride the bus to work –usually Amy drove him in those cases, but again, he was attempting to forget about their conversation and he feared calling her while he was still battling insomnia at night would do nothing to cure him. The rest of the day had gone according to routine, but the events of the morning had left him feeling discontent. He was hoping that the _Star Trek: Next Generation_ marathon he was about to watch would relieve him of these haunting thoughts. His good friend Wil Wheaton was in it. And his good friend Wil Wheaton had never tried to change the roommate neighbour dynamic after having only six and a half years to settle into it! _Rats_ he thought, clasping his hands together in agitation. The show hadn't even started yet and it was failing him already.

The door swung open as Leonard entered the apartment, a bag of groceries in hand. Sheldon instantly brightened at this. It'd been a while since he and Leonard had watched a sci-fi marathon since Penny had moved in –granted this was partly due to the fact that the theoretical physicist had been busy working on his plan, but still. Penny was working late tonight and having the apartment to themselves to watch _Star Trek_ would simply remind Leonard of how good things had been when it was just the two of them in 4A and Penny was right across the hall.

"Sheldon, we need to talk."

"About the skim milk and not the two percent milk that I am accustomed to I see sitting in that plastic bag?" Sheldon asked, raising an eyebrow.

Leonard sighed. "No." He set the grocery bag on the coffee table and then took a seat in his chair. "We need to talk about our current living situation."

Sheldon immediately perked up at that comment. Could it be happening already? He'd been certain that the shower conundrum had put a dent in things, but he hadn't expected his plan to pan out so quickly. He fought the urge to sigh happily; if they moved fast enough, everything could be back to normal by the weekend.

"Penny told me about what happened in the bathroom this morning," Leonard continued carefully.

Sheldon immediately held up a hand. "She was violating the roommate agreement; I had no choice but to dish out a consequence."

"Sheldon, you can't just burn someone to force them out of the shower!" Leonard groaned. He sounded tired. Sheldon chalked it up to grief over Penny having to move back across the hall. His roommate would probably fall into another, as the theoretical physicist liked to call them, "Penny Depression", but it's not like he hadn't before, and he'd soon come back to love the original dynamic. Besides, it wasn't as though they had to terminate their relationship because of this; all they had to do was go back to the way things were before.

"Look," Leonard said wearily. "It's obvious that Penny living with us has a bad effect on you." Sheldon merely nodded, trying to keep his eagerness for what was to come at bay. "And I know that you were against this from the start and we should have respected that. Clearly, this isn't working out like we hoped it would." Any second now it would come. "It'd probably be best if Penny and I moved out."

It took a long time for the frown on Sheldon's face to form as Leonard's words slowly sank in. Penny and _I_? That was absurd! In what universe did they both leave? Certainly not this one!

"You – you'd _both_ leave?" he stammered, still trying to process what had been said.

"Well, yeah, I mean, we still want to live together," Leonard replied. "But if you're not happy having Penny here, then we can try doing it somewhere else."

_Still wanted to live together?_ In what universe did Leonard and Penny operate like that? From what he'd observed, when the tough got going, the non-committal Penny high tailed it out of Leonardville. He'd based his whole plan around it! Granted, there'd been the whole "I love you" business, but he'd paid little attention to that. And how exactly did that factor into this in any way?

Sheldon sucked in a breath, trying to remain calm. "Counter proposal," he said, raising a hand. "You remain here and we go back to our roommate agreement and all its glory and then Penny goes back across the hall and everyone's happy again."

Leonard frowned slightly. "Um...no."

"Well, why not?" Sheldon snapped, folding his arms across his chest. "We had a perfectly good system going with the three of us ruling the fourth floor. I always had Penny across the hall and I always had you here, why change that?"

The experimental physicist raised an eyebrow at his sudden outburst. "You didn't expect us to stay that way forever," he said, the uncertainty in his voice making it sound like a question. "I mean, even if Penny and I hadn't ended up together, we still both would've moved out eventually. You can't stay in the same place all your life."

Sheldon clasped his hands together tightly and bit his lip in frustration. This was merely a reiteration of what Amy had said. You can't prevent change; everything changes sooner or later, blah dee blah blah. Even if that were partly true, why did this particular thing have to change?

"Why can't you just try to make it work?" he muttered, looking down at his clenched hands.

"We tried to make it work here, but since you're unhappy –

"Who says I'm unhappy?" he snapped.

"Well, come on, Sheldon, you've been super uptight about the roommate agreement and you haven't exactly been the nicest person to Penny since she moved in."

"And how do you know that that wasn't just some sort of hazing ritual for the new roommate that was going to wear off by, say, tomorrow?" he demanded, rising to his feet.

Leonard cocked his head at Sheldon, looking utterly perplexed. He stared at him like that for a long moment before speaking. "...was it?"

"I don't know! Perhaps. I'm going to bed, don't follow me!"

Sheldon marched to his room, shutting the door behind him. He began pacing the floor, unsure of what to do. All of his work and planning, all for nothing. He'd been so sure that going back to the original dynamic would be the only outcome. He'd been foolish really. His job taught him to account for all possible outcomes until one materialized but he'd done no such thing. Leonard and Penny had even told him that if they couldn't live here first then they'd find some other place; it should have been obvious that they'd go that route if this one failed just like they'd planned to. But he'd wanted _his_ outcome to be right. And now he was going to lose them. It was one thing to change the dynamics of the tenants simply _within_ the building. It was another form of change entirely for the two of them to just move away.

_How can you truly know if something's good or not if you convinced yourself it'd be horrible before it even started? _And there was Amy Farrah Fowler again, although this time he didn't try to push the thoughts away. Instead, he stopped his pacing and stood for a moment, mulling over the words. A minute went by and then another. He stood there in silence for fifteen long minutes, thinking all the while. Then, he walked over to his bedside table, opened his copy of the roommate agreement, removed the section regarding Leonard and Penny's amorous activities...and then tore it right in two.


	15. Chapter 15

**Nothing continues to be owned by me.**

Leonard was surprised when he woke up to find that only half of his bedspread was covering him. The sheets had been pulled up so that only his right side was covered, leaving the left side exposed. He glanced over to his right to see that his sleeping girlfriend, her back turned to him, had the blankets wrapped tightly around her, her head nearly hidden underneath them with only a tiny bit of blonde hair still showing. The sight amused the experimental physicist and he momentarily wondered if Penny actually was asleep or if she was just pretending in order to play some sort of game with him.

Before he had a chance to do anything, Leonard noticed the clock on her bedside table. It was seven-twenty. She'd been taking the seven-forty shift at work for the past week and clearly she'd forgotten to set her alarm just like yesterday. And this time she didn't even have enough time to try and steal Sheldon's shower timeslot.

Moving closer, Leonard did his best to slide his arms around the mass of blankets that covered Penny. He kissed the top of her head and then pushed his face under the covers in order to get his mouth closer to her ear. "Hey, get up," he whispered. "You're going to be late for work."

"Mmm," Penny mumbled, shivering slightly.

Leonard frowned, unsure how anyone could possibly be cold practically buried under the thick, blue bedspread. "Are you okay?" he asked, growing concerned.

"No," she replied, her voice sounding odd. "It's freezing. Your damn roommate keeps this place too cold." She sounded congested and the second shiver that ran down her body was enough to convince him that she wasn't well.

"Honey, you're sick," he said, sitting up. He reached his hand down to try and feel her forehead.

"Am not," she grumbled. At least she was well enough that she had enough energy to argue. "It's just fracking freezing in here," she said, ending with a sneeze. The sneeze was followed by a fit of coughing; Leonard rubbed her back –or as best he could tell was her back under the thick blanket – until she stopped. "Fine," she sighed, now slightly out of breath. "I'm sick. Go turn the thermostat up while Dr. Whackadoodle's in the shower."

"He'd notice the second he got out."

"I don't care, I'm sick!" Penny groaned. Apparently now that she'd conceded to that fact, she was going to use it to her advantage as much as she could.

"I know," he said, rubbing her back again. He bent down and kissed her hair before getting out of bed. "I'll call your work and get you more blankets," he said, heading for the door.

"Thank you," she sighed, sounding tired. "And no more kissing me, I don't want you to get sick."

Leonard raised an eyebrow at her in amusement. "We slept in the same bed all night, and you weren't exactly holding back with kissing me last night either. It might be too late for me."

"It's not my fault," she mumbled. "You were being cute."

He nodded, grinning. "Good to know."

After calling the restaurant to explain Penny's absence, Leonard went to the closet and pulled out a few small blankets. He stopped suddenly to turn back and look at the thermostat. He glanced down the hall. There was no sign of Sheldon, and it couldn't hurt just to risk it... The experimental physicist hurried over to the device and turned it up a few degrees.

"What are you doing?"

"Ah!" Leonard yelped, spinning around to find Sheldon standing at the end of the hall. What, was he _The Flash_ all of a sudden? Well, he _would_ like that, so perhaps it wasn't all that farfetched that his roommate may have found a way to duplicate his favourite superhero's special power.

Leonard cleared his throat when Sheldon raised an eyebrow at him. "I was turning the thermostat up, but Penny's sick and she was really cold!" he finished hurriedly, but then immediately regretted those words; the last thing he needed was for Sheldon to go on a rant about germs and try to quarantine Penny.

"_Sick_? What kind of sick?" he asked sharply.

"A cold."

"What kind of cold?"

Leonard frowned, shrugging. "I don't know, the regular kind, with sneezing and coughing and all that?"

"Ah, the common cold," Sheldon said, nodding. "I should've guessed it, it's right up the alley of a regular person." Leonard's frown deepened, but the theoretical physicist ignored it. "So, is it safe to assume that this evening shall be filled with chicken soup, hot beverages, and seasons of _Sex and City_ as you tend to your sick girlfriend while I hide in my room?"

"Yeah, I guess so –no, wait," Leonard groaned, putting a hand to his forehead. "Dr. Gablehauser wants me to attend that lecture and take notes. I won't get home until about nine-thirty."

"Please don't ask me to fill in as _Sex and the City_ viewer number two; you know I won't do it."

Leonard rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I know. Just be nice to her tonight, alright? Don't try any of that stuff where you spray disinfectant under my bedroom door."

Sheldon nodded, looking somewhat exasperated. "Yes, you've made it perfectly clear multiple times that that is not acceptable."

"Good."

"It makes _me_ feel a little better, though –

"Just please don't try it!"

* * *

It always took Penny a long time to get to sleep whenever she was sick. No matter how tired the illness made her, the irritating symptoms always put up quite the fight before allowing her to get comfortable enough to slip into unconsciousness. Therefore, it was understandable that, once she'd been asleep for an hour, she had the urge to whack whoever was causing the loud disturbance outside of her door with her baseball bat.

_Bang!_ "Penny?"

_Bang! _"Penny?"

_Bang!_ "Penny?"

The waitress groaned, keeping her eyes shut, not even bothering to care what was causing that noise. "Sheldon, what do you want?"

"I need you to open the door for me."

"Just open it yourself, it doesn't have a lock."

"No, I'm afraid it's going to have to be you."

Penny sighed before slowly and reluctantly stumbling out of bed and towards the door. Why did he want to come in here anyway? She was sick and he was the most germ phobic person on the planet! She opened the door and came face to face with the Shelbot; the robot had a large plastic tray attached to the front of it now that held a bowl of soup and a copy of the roommate agreement.

Sheldon waved from the computer screen. "I brought you soup," he said, giving her a small smile.

"Thanks," Penny said, though she couldn't help frowning. After almost two months of living with a roommate agreement crazed Sheldon who got upset with her over every little thing, this was rather unusual. Hell, it was unusual for Sheldon even when he was being perfectly pleasant. Although, there was still the fact that he'd brought along the roommate agreement, so perhaps she was right to be cautious. Nevertheless, she took the bowl of soup and got back into bed, sitting up so she could still see the Shelbot screen.

The robot moved closer. "I've made some changes to the roommate agreement," he explained. Penny raised an eyebrow and then lifted the document off of the tray and onto the bed. "I realized that it's possible that I may have taken too eagerly to enforcing the rules of the agreement and that certain rules may have possibly been slightly unreasonable."

The waitress couldn't help but smile a little; the theoretical physicist had never been one to apologize for his actions, especially his actions towards her, so his apology –however guarded it may be – made her happy. "Well, I'm sorry, too," she said. "I know I'm not the easiest person to live with either and I didn't always follow the agreement as well as I should have."

Sheldon nodded solemnly. "I know." Penny laughed at how serious he was, which was a mistake because it brought on another coughing fit. "Eat your soup," he instructed once she had stopped, pointing towards the steaming bowl. "It'll help." She did as she was told.

"To continue," he said. "It is my hope that because of the editing I've done to the agreement, you and Leonard will find it suitable to remain living here. With me," he added more quietly.

Penny grinned as she began skimming the roommate agreement. The rule regarding expired food in the fridge had been lifted although in its place was a reminder stressing just how important it was to rid the refrigerator of bad food and listing the health hazards. The punishment system he'd implemented for her was now gone; most rules remained the same in terms of schedules; however, the most surprising change was the one regarding amorous activities. "Really?" she asked, glancing at Sheldon on the screen. Though they still had to refrain from PDA around him, they were no longer required to inform him of when they'd be engaging in coitus, though, again, there was a reminder on how much noise the theoretical physicist could take. Technically, Leonard and Penny had already changed that about the agreement when she was first moving in, but Sheldon actually consenting to it was huge.

The theoretical physicist nodded. "Yes, I've decided to let that one go." He held up a stern hand. "But, again, remember, with great power comes great responsibility." She smiled. "In any case, it seems as if the two of you have been refraining from coitus anyway, seeing as I've heard nothing in the past two weeks. Kudos." Penny merely nodded, deciding it was better not to tell him that all they'd really been doing was practicing being quiet.

"The final amendment," Sheldon continued. "Is that I agree to be lenient with roommate number two, which would be you," he explained, pointing at her. "And attempt to overlook any minor transgressions, keeping in mind that it took you four years to finish high school." Again, he held up a hand. "However, I make no exceptions for roommate number one –Leonard. He's lived here for ten years, he knows the drill –well don't cry!" he said, looking alarmed as Penny's eyes welled up. "This is no reason to cry."

Penny smiled, blinking hard to prevent the tears from overflowing and falling down her cheeks. Sometimes, Sheldon Cooper could be the most insane person she'd ever met, but he could also be the sweetest. "Thank you," she said, reaching over to tap the screen where his cheek was with her finger.

He smiled. "You're welcome. Though, I ask that you not do that again, I don't want smudges on my screen."

She smirked. "Got it."

"Alright," he said. "Now for the last order of business."

"What's that?"

"I have to sing you Soft Kitty."

It took a lot of self control on Penny's part to keep from tearing up again. "Really?"

"Oh, don't look so surprised, you know how this works," he grinned, waving a hand dismissively. He cleared his throat. "_Soft kitty, warm kitty, little ball of fur_ – drat," he said, breaking off from the song. "The camera's out of position." He adjusted the screen's view and then started again from the top.

"Oh, sweetie, that's okay, you don't have to start over," Penny said.

"I'm sorry, it's not optional," he said, starting from the beginning once again. "_Soft kitty, warm kitty, little ball of fur. Happy kitty, sleepy kitty, purr, purr, purr._"


	16. Chapter 16

**Still don't own anything.**

"So, what do you and Amy have planned for tonight?" Leonard asked as he and his roommate made their way around the corner and towards Amy's door.

"None of your business," Sheldon said, his grip on the bag he'd brought with him tightening.

"What's in the bag?"

The theoretical physicist sighed. "Leonard, we had this exact same conversation in the car, now we're beginning to circle; you know I don't like that."

Leonard smirked. "Sorry."

"Apology accepted," he said, stopping in front of the door. He motioned towards the hall. "Now go away."

He raised an eyebrow before turning away. "Thanks so much for driving me all the way to my girlfriend's house, Leonard," he said, his voice somewhat higher in what Sheldon assumed was an attempt at mimicry, though it sounded nothing like him. "You're the best roommate ever!"

"I thought we created Leonard's Day so that we wouldn't have to go through this sort of nonsense!" Sheldon called after him. Leonard said something in reply, but he couldn't make out what it was. Perhaps that was for the best. "Needy baby, greedy baby, indeed," he muttered before knocking on the door.

"Sheldon Cooper," Amy said when she opened the door, nodding to him.

"Amy Farrah Fowler." He nodded back. They stared at each other for a moment before Sheldon moved his bag towards her. "I got you something."

The neurobiologist frowned. "According to the relationship agreement, gifts are to only be given on birthdays or Christmas and they are to first be planned out carefully so that our prices match and no one's left in debt."

"While that's true, under apologies and wrong-doings, the relationship agreement also states that, if necessary, apologies are to be accompanied by gifts," he pointed out.

"There's no section on apologies in the agreement."

"I can edit it, can't I?" Sheldon mumbled as he stepped past her into the apartment. "And you never made such a fuss about me buying you that tiara."

"Alright, alright, calm down," she said gently. She took a seat on the couch, patting the spot next to her until he joined her.

Sheldon stared at the bag for a moment more and then handed it to her. He watched intently as his girlfriend reached a hand inside and then slowly pulled out a stuffed monkey. The theoretical physicist smiled; he'd been hoping that she'd find that one first.

"It's from the zoo," he explained. "You got me a koala, so it's only fitting that I get you a monkey."

Amy smiled. "He's adorable."

Sheldon gave a slight nod. "He's got nothing on my koala, but I suppose he has a certain charm. Much more charm than the monkeys you bring home."

"Now, now, those monkeys are recovering addicts," she said somewhat defensively. "But, thank you."

"You're welcome. Now, open the other gift."

The neurobiologist raised an eyebrow, taken aback. "There's more? That's rather unlike you."

"The monkey was a thank you for the koala," Sheldon explained. "This next gift is part of my apology." He glanced down at his shoes and cleared his throat. Apologizing was never easily done; it had taken him two hours before he'd plucked up the nerve to apologize to a bed-ridden Penny. It hadn't taken very long for him to make his way over here –he and Amy were of a higher, equal intelligence, so it was more likely for one of them to be right over the other at times, making apologizing an easier task –but figuring out what to say in these situations was always rather difficult. "It appears that you were right about my preconceived notions about having Penny as a roommate being too presumptuous, and I'm sorry for temporarily disregarding that...and ruining boyfriend girlfriend sing along night...again."

Amy smiled at him and nodded. "Apology accepted." She reached into the bag a second time and removed two coffee mugs, each with the words "Soul mates of the mind and of the heart" printed on them. She put a hand to her mouth before turning to look at him, her eyes wide. "How did you..."

"I needed gift ideas, so I let myself in here while you were at work and found your design for these in your kitchen. You hadn't written 'dibs' anywhere on the paper, so I figured it was fair game for gift giving," he said, a small, proud smile forming on his face.

The theoretical physicist hadn't really thought about how the neurobiologist would thank him for the gift, so he'd given himself no expectations for that moment; however, if he _had_ taken the time to ponder how it would play out he would not have envisioned Amy Farrah Fowler leaning over and pressing her lips to his cheek. Back in Texas when he was younger, his mother or his Meemaw would kiss his cheek, usually if they were proud of some work he'd done in school or something along those lines. In those cases, he'd always felt his work was more deserving of something such as a Nobel Prize and not a simple kiss on the cheek; that was no prize for a scientist. However, in this case, he was pleasantly surprised by Amy's gesture and the tingling sensation it left on his cheek made him smile.

**We've never actually gotten a Shamy cheek kiss before, which kind of seems odd when I think about it, so I decided to put one in here. And it provided a little opportunity to show how Sheldon separates Amy from the maternal figures in his life based on his reaction to her kiss. So, I hope you all enjoyed that. And reviews are great, just saying. :)**


	17. Chapter 17

**I still don't own anything! Who's shocked? I'm not!**

"So, Sheldon," Howard said around a bite of pizza. "I owe Raj ten bucks because it's been two months and you haven't changed the roommate agreement back to forbidding Leonard and Penny from engaging in, as you would say, 'amorous activities' without telling you. And _yes_, it _is_ 'forbidding'!" he snapped at Raj in order to stop the astrophysicist from waving a hand in protest.

Sheldon looked up from his plate and turned his attention to the engineer who was sitting on the desk chair he'd wheeled over so he could be next to Bernadette, sitting on the chair from Penny's apartment next to Raj who was on the couch. "And you're telling me this because you'd like me to help you with your gambling addiction?"

Howard rolled his eyes. "I don't have a gambling addiction."

"Well, clearly you do, seeing as you engage in it all the time with Raj and rarely ever come out the victor. Admitting you have a problem is the first step, Howard."

The engineer glared at Leonard and Penny when the couple smirked at him. "_Anyway_, that's not what I was getting at."

"Alright, you can change the subject, but that's not going to make your problem go away," Sheldon stated calmly.

"_In any case!_" Howard said, his loud voice displaying his frustration. He cleared his throat, bringing his decibel level down. "Should we be taking this little experiment with the roommate agreement as an indication that you're warming up to the idea of nightly fun time?" He waggled his eyebrows suggestively.

"_Nightly fun time_?" Penny asked, looking repulsed.

He shrugged. "Hey, at least I didn't use Raj's name for it: bouncy, naked yum-yum night."

Bernadette put a hand to her face. "How did we get on this topic?"

Amy pointed her fork at Howard. "That'd be your husband's doing."

The microbiologist narrowed her eyes at him. "You're not allowed to start conversations anymore."

"While, I agree, I'm not fond of your topics of dinner discussion, Howard," Sheldon said. "To answer your question, no, I remain uninterested in participating in coitus. As I've stated many times, it's messy, loud, and involves appeals to a deity." He held up a hand before continuing. "And I must argue your point on it being good for a relationship; recently all I've been hearing from these two" – he pointed to Leonard and Penny –"is argument after argument over who loves said unknown deity more. Which reminds me, I thought the two of you promised to be more quiet." He raised an eyebrow at his roommates.

Both members of the couple grimaced. "New topic, please," Penny said in a pained voice. Bernadette covered Howard's mouth before her husband had a chance to make a suggestion.

The theoretical physicist ignored his roommate. "My relationship with Amy should be the perfect example of why intercourse is not necessary."

Amy nodded her head and smiled. "Exactly. Though, that's not to say that it wouldn't be nice once in a while..."

Sheldon stared at his girlfriend for a moment, as if wondering if he should respond to her subtle hinting, but then seemed to think better of it. "In any case, I haven't re-edited the agreement as both Leonard and Penny have been living up to their ends of the roommate agreement and have, on the whole, made life here rather enjoyable."

Howard shook his head in disbelief. "Sheldon enjoying having Penny as a roommate and openly saying so. Never thought I'd see the day."

Penny grinned, looking proud of herself. "He even likes to come grocery shopping with me."

Sheldon nodded, smiling. "She lets me push the cart," he explained. Then he narrowed his eyes at Leonard. "Unlike some power-hungry people."

The experimental physicist rolled his eyes. "The last time I let you push the cart you let go of it because the handles were sticky and sent it careening right into the store manager."

"I always clean the handles with those sanitary wipes he brings," Penny said, giving her boyfriend a triumphant grin before running a hand through his hair.

The theoretical physicist nodded. "You see how it's done, Leonard?"

Leonard merely rolled his eyes again. Oh well. He certainly preferred being Sheldon's second favourite roommate to him and Penny engaging in a roommate war. And grocery shopping with Sheldon had never been his favourite thing anyway.

* * *

Penny bent down and pressed her lips against Leonard's forehead. She was seated on the right side of the couch with her boyfriend's head in her lap while he lay stretched out across the length of the piece of furniture, his feet in Sheldon's spot. She kissed his head a few more times before straightening up, running a hand through his hair.

Leonard grinned up at her. "Thanks," he said. "I should let you know when I have a headache more often."

Penny shook her head at him playfully. She slid her left hand from his chest down to his stomach, beginning to slowly move it back and forth. It was nice to get some alone time, just the two of them. Once Sheldon had decided to embrace Penny's living in apartment 4A he'd quickly taken to spending time with both of them, wanting to play video games, or accompany them to movies or other forms of outings. The waitress was pleased that he was enjoying her company so much now and most times she was glad to have him along, but, still, it was good to be alone with Leonard, getting little tastes of what it was like living just with him.

"So," she said, tipping her head down to look at him. "Things are looking good, huh?"

Leonard's eyes – which had been closed just before – fluttered open and he smiled up at her. "You mean, just sitting together on this couch right now?" He let his head tilt to the left so the side of his face rested against her stomach. "Because, then, yeah, things are great."

"No," Penny said in a teasing voice. She let the fingers of her right hand push through his hair a second time to keep him from shutting his eyes again. "I mean us living together. You said living here with Sheldon would be kind of like another beta test, so, evaluation time, Hofstadter. Where do we stand?"

"Oh, I see." Leonard closed his eyes again, snuggling his head in closer to her. "Then, yes, things are looking _very_ good."

Penny rolled her eyes. "Stop being cute and get more specific."

"That's about as specific as you were when we first evaluated the relationship beta test," he pointed out. "And, technically, I was more specific because I added a 'very'."

The waitress shook her head. "Smartass," she said fondly, sliding her right arm around his shoulders.

Seeing how relaxed her boyfriend looked, Penny was thinking about closing her eyes herself when Sheldon came down the hall, the latest issue of _The Flash_ in his hand.

"Leonard, your feet are in my spot." He came to a halt in front of the couch, staring down at his roommate's shoes expectantly.

"He has a headache," Penny explained.

Sheldon blinked. "I fail to see how resting his legs in my spot would help in curing that."

"You're right, keeping them there is making it worse," Leonard sighed, sliding his feet off of the left side of the couch. Sheldon promptly sat down.

"Oh, hey," said Penny, just as the theoretical physicist opened up his comic book. "Did you guys hear that someone's moving into my old apartment next week?" The moment the words had left the waitress's mouth, she regretted them. Sheldon's whole body tensed up, his left eye starting to twitch, and he clutched the edges of his copy of _The Flash_ so hard that he was probably doing more damage than Howard Ham-fisted Wolowitz could ever do. She _really_ needed to start thinking these things through.

"The horror," Sheldon whispered, looking off into the distance. Suddenly, he sprang to his feet, darting down the hall and towards his bedroom.

Leonard frowned up at his girlfriend. She bit her lip apologetically. "Sorry, she mumbled.

"You realize you and I are gonna have to move now, right?"

"Why?"

"Because I'm not sticking around to be punished for whatever horrible things Sheldon plans to do to get rid of this new neighbour," he explained, rubbing his temple as though he expected the headache to get much worse in the coming hours.

"Aw, we can't move out yet, he loves having me here." Leonard smirked at her in spite of his wariness. Penny grinned back and grabbed one of his hands in her own. "The three of us aren't done here yet."

**So, that's that. I really wanted to focus on Sheldon and his reticence to change and how he could overcome that for the people in his life, which of course offers a lot of room for Leonard/Penny/Sheldon family dynamic as well as the Shamy dynamic, so I hope you all enjoyed it. Also, regarding the comments on the Shamy sex, that was in no way a slight to shippers who want that to happen; the idea for that scene simply came to me and I liked it, so I included it, but it was not intended to insult Shamy shippers who want them to have sex eventually. Anyway, thanks to all who read this fic and, again, I love reviews, so feel free to leave some. :)**


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